Springtime Connection
by Writing Faber
Summary: The school's spring festival is here and Representative Dupain - Cheng is as busy as ever. With Alya's antics and Chloe's constant bickering, Marinette knows that the coming weeks will be challenging. She's up for it. But when a certain black cat slips up, how will she deal with this spring semester?
1. Announcement

Ms. Bustier paced in front of the classroom with her clipboard in hand. She continuously tucked a stray strand of red hair behind her ear as the remaining students filed into the classroom. Alya and Marinette crowded around the brunette's tablet, reviewing the latest photos of Paris' favorite heroes on the Ladyblog. Alya had managed to get a decent shot of the flirtatious Chat Noir in his latest endeavor. Marinette stifled a giggle as her best friend flipped through more photos. Marinette enjoyed mornings like this. The normal ones. The ones where she came to class on time and talked to Alya without a care in the world. Admittedly, seeing her superhero self on the blog was always a bit embarrassing, but there wasn't much she could do about that.

"Hey there, Alya!" Nino exclaimed, quickly coming to the girl and giving her a squeeze. Marinette felt a sense of pride. She knew it was her fault they got together, but she was glad that she had locked the pair into that cage when Animan was rampaging. That was six months ago and they were still going strong.

Adrien trailed in behind the overly energetic music lover. He waved to the girls. Alya returned the gesture while Marinette shyly hid behind the tablet. Alya kicked Marinette beneath the table. It was a usual routine, but it had to be done. At least, that's how Alya felt about the whole affair. Marinette mentally cursed her friend as she feebly waved to her crush. She liked Adrien. A lot. Ever since he gave her his umbrella at the beginning of the year, she'd been infatuated with him. He was, well, perfect. He was kind and was so hard working with all of his extra lessons and modeling work on top of school. His talent for physics only added to his charm.

Adrien smiled as he sat down. He always thought Marinette was cute, not quite adorable, but she was cute. He liked to be around her and Nino always bugged him about hanging out with her more (especially since she was friends with Alya). Seriously, what was this though? A love square? Adrien always thought it was dumb idea. Why would he date Marinette just because Nino was dating her friend? Even if he started dating the girl behind him, he knew it wouldn't be genuine. His heart had been taken by his spotted partner in crime fighting. He couldn't get Ladybug's triumphant smile or bright blue eyes out of his head. Ever. She was a constant entity. Sure, he's never really had a deep conversation with her or anything, but the connection he felt was undeniable.

The bell rang, making Bustier sigh. She placed the clipboard on the table, leaning on it as the room's speaker whined to life. Principal Damocles coughed into his microphone, making the speakers pop.

"Attention students," he huffed, shuffling papers across his desk. "I am pleased to announce the coming spring festival. I am sure that our returning students remember the success of last year's festivities and it is my hope that we will see the same amazing results this year." The speaker buzzed as Damocles shut off the microphone. Ms. Bustier tapped her table, calling the attention of her chattering students.

The students faced the front, still exchanging an occasional whisper with their seat partners. Marinette didn't know if she should've been excited about or dreading the coming event. Being class representative wasn't that hard most of the time, but this little wrinkle only meant more work. How the hell was she supposed to stay late and work on this while saving Paris from Hawk Moth and his akumatized minions? She remembered how her class did the worst in last year's festival. Chloe's 'fashion show', with her as the only model, flopped with only her father and a few teachers in attendance. Marinette didn't want that to happen this year. She wanted the whole class to come together and create something great. A sigh escaped her lips. Who was she kidding? She'd be lucky if she doesn't collapse during this time.

She thought about poor Chat Noir and how many times she'd most likely be late in the coming weeks. Alya elbowed her friend with a wink. Marinette didn't know what she was planning but the girl's gut told her that she was not going to like it.

Ms. Bustier stepped in front of her table, resting against the black top. "Now, now guys. With this new development, we have some work to do. Now, will our representative and deputy please come to the front of the room?" Alya and Marinette walked to the front of the room while Chloe steamed. The class brat refused to face the front, preferring to mess with her ponytail and fix her lipgloss with the help of a small compact mirror. Ms. Bustier noticed her behavior but ignored her to redirect the class's attention to the class officers.

Marinette gave a small glance to her friend, unsure what to do. Alya returned the look with a small shrug. Marinette glanced around the room, searching for a good segue. Her eyes met with Adrien's and she soon ran to the board. With blushed cheeks she grabbed the chalk from the board's tray. "A-alright." she said, writing 'ideas' in rounded letters at the top of the board. "Anyone have a suggestion for what our class should do for the festival?" She hoped for anything. A play? Show? Shop?

Chloe raised her hand first. Alya and Marinette shared a groan as the brunette called on the over enthusiastic blonde. She offered the same idea she had every year. A fashion show featuring designs from all of her father's opulent friends. The whole class rolled their eyes, but Marinette still wrote 'fashion show' onto the board. Ms. Bustier pasted on a smile as she played with her clipboard's clip.

"Anyone else?" piped in the teacher.

Adrien spun his pencil around as crickets filled the room. Nino laid his head down grumbling about doing ANOTHER one of Chloe's fashion shows. Adrien had never been to one of these festivals, but he had to admit that a single model fashion show was probably not the best pick. The class' activity had to be something that everyone could participate in. From shy Nathaniel to friendly Rose and even Chloe and Sabrina. Adrien laced his fingers beneath his chin. Thinking past the crickets that occupied the air. Alya and Marinette glanced at each other then to the class. Marinette was frantic for another idea, anything really. She didn't want to design clothes for Chloe to prance around in. She didn't want her class to become a laughing stock again.

Adrien thought some more. He thought about the fun he had at the bakery with Marinette when they played games and the time he came as Chat Noir. He enjoyed that place with its warm atmosphere and delicious food. His mind wandered to that visit where he and Ladybug had visited the cafe on business. Costumes and cafes….

Adrien raised his hand. Marinette's cheeks turned rosy as Alya called on him. Adrien cleared his throat. "How about a costume cafe?"

The students milled around, whispering to one another. Their excitement slowly built before Ms. Bustier clapped her hands. Marinette quickly scrawled the idea onto the board, her ears and cheeks still full of color. Alya smiled at her bashful friend as Alya leaned against the table. She asked for more suggestions but the room went silent.

"Well, looks like those are our options," Ms. Bustier said with her clipboard back in her hand. "Alright, who would like to do the fashion show?" Chloe and Sabrina raised their hands with triumphant smiles. Their confidence quickly dwindled when the rest of the class kept their hands on their laps. "Ok… who wants to do the cafe?"

The decision was nearly unanimous.

Alya and Marinette smiled at each other, prideful over the fact that they finally defeated the annual disaster known as their class' 'fashion show'. Chloe piped in, saying it was unfair since everyone else had no idea what they were doing. She said that having top designers at the school would improve the school and that only her and Adrien were worthy of being displayed before the student body.

Ms. Bustier stood up straight, her lips stretched into a line. "I'm sorry, Chloe, but the class has spoken. We will be doing a costume cafe this year." Chloe pouted and began to open her mouth, "And calling your father will not help you in this matter. That is final." Bustier snapped. Chloe fumed with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Bustier sighed, knowing the headache that was going to ensue for the coming weeks. She pasted on a fresh smile as she turned to the class officers. "Now, the coming homerooms will be dedicated to organizing this event. Please plan carefully and have jobs delegated by next session."

The bell went off, signaling the end of homeroom and the beginning of normal classes.

Marinette sketched in her notebook for the remainder of her classes. During breaks (and even in class) Marinette and Alya exchanged ideas for the exhibit. By the end of the day, Marinette had half a notebook of costume and decor ideas as well as a tentative list of jobs and the classmates assigned to them. The final bell rang and Alya took the jobs list from Marinette.

Alya gave her friend a wink. "Don't worry about it girl, I'll email this to Ms. Bustier."

"Are you sure? I don't mind doing it."

Alya patted her friend on the shoulder. "Don't worry, don't worry. Just go home and rest. We're going to get busy," she finished with a grin. Marinette had a bad feeling about this but relented to her best friend. What was the worst that could happen, right?


	2. Change of Plans

[A/N] So, here's an early update because I'm ill and I can't promise that I'll for sure update tomorrow. :/ Hope you enjoy :)

Marinette entered the classroom, her head a flurry of new worries and excitement. Alya patted her friend's seat with a grin spread ear to ear. Marinette looked at her hands in her lap, her lips fighting between a grin and a frown. Instead she just went with a stiff smile. She didn't know what expression to make. Should she have been glad that Alya made this plan or should she be dreading the long conversations that she would inevitably have with Adrien? Marinette had a bad feeling, like she was going to screw everything up in the worst way possible, but her growing responsibilities quickly pushed those thoughts away. Alya gave Marinette a pat on the back as she sat down.

"Aw, what has you so down, girl? Shouldn't you be all excited about homeroom today?"

Marinette glanced at her friend. Alya was right, she should be happy, excited even. Not scared. Not so stressed. Not yet anyways.

Marinette smiled, giving her friend an exaggerated wave. "Don't worry about me. I just didn't sleep enough. Thinking about this and all," she explained. Marinette opened her eyes, remembering Alya's help from yesterday. "Oh yeah, did Ms. Bustier get the list?"

Alya grinned. "Of course she did." She answered with a wink. Marinette couldn't figure out if that wink meant some turn in the near future. Marinette hoped not; she didn't need surprises. She needed time. She needed time to be a student and a leader and a hero and a teen all at once. It always seemed like there never enough hours in the day.

Ms. Bustier walked behind her table, looking at her clipboard. She slowly listed out the various jobs onto the chalkboard. Marinette set her head onto the table. She doesn't need to read the list. She made it after all.

"What the -" Chloe squeaked, "How am I not working with Adrien?"

Marinette smirked. Of course she put Adrien in decorations and Chloe in costume design. Was that vain of her? Maybe. But it was too tempting.

Alya chuckled to herself as Ms. Bustier reached the end of the list. Even Bustier glanced at the pair of girls confused as she wrote down the last two names. Marinette's stomach twisted with Alya's chuckle. She glanced at the board and scanned the list. She stopped when she saw who was in marketing. Alya's name showed proudly next to the marketing position. Marinette gave her friend a furrowed brow before jumping to the end of the list where the organizers were listed. Marinette and Adrien were listed as the head organizers. The blonde turned around confused as Ms. Bustier sent the students to their respective groups. Nino winked at his friend as he and Alya met with some of the other students.

Chloe stomped over to Bustier's desk just as the teacher reviewed her list.

"Ms. Bustier," she huffed, "Don't you think that Adrien and I would make a better team? I'm sure that Marinette could do all the organizing on her own." The blonde glanced to her two partners, Sabrina and Nathaniel.

Ms. Bustier sighed. "Look Chloe, this is an exercise for you to learn to problem solve. If you have any issues, talk to your class representative." The teacher gave Marinette a sympathetic nod before returned to grading last week's homework. Chloe stomped over to Marinette's seat.

"Now Marinette," she said with an upturned nose. Marinette groaned. "We ALL know that Adrien and I work the best as a team. We've known each other forever and his father is the best designer. He must a have a gene or two in him somewhere, right?" The blonde leaned against Marinette's desk, "Now why don't you just go right on up there and change those positions, huh?" She giggled to herself as Marinette looked down to her hands. Adrien opened his mouth to retort his childhood friend, but Alya piped in before that was even necessary.

The brunette's sharp hearing alerted her to the class brat's pushy tone. She didn't like Marinette getting cornered or her little scheme getting messed with. She stepped away from Nino and the other committees to step between Chloe and Marinette. "Actually," Alya said with a smile, "We put you over there because your designs are just so great. There was no way we couldn't put you there."

"Then why does Adrien have to be here. Shouldn't you be planning stuff?"

"Actually Marinette and I," Alya winked at her best friend, "talked about it and we came to the conclusion that me being in marketing would be better than planning. Adrien is a pretty organized guy so putting him in organizing was a no brainer, right?" Adrien looked away, scratching the back of his head while Chloe gritted her teeth. The blonde couldn't find another argument to use and huffed off with Sabrina at her side receiving the bad end of Chloe's temper.

The period proceeded with the students meeting in their designated groups. Marinette awkwardly played with her thumbs as Adrien turned around in his seat. He didn't quite get why he was partnered with Marinette but he didn't particularly mind either. She was nice, if a little awkward. "So," he said, tapping on the table to gain the girl's attention, "Where should we start?"

Marinette lifted her eyes but messed with her bangs to (hopefully) hide her rosy cheeks. She still couldn't believe that Alya pulled this. What was she going to do for the next weeks? Marinette thought to all of the time and cooperation and, well, talking she was going to have to do with Adrien and it rocked her. Her heart raced just at the thought of approaching him. Having him actually in front of her made her head go blank. She almost forgot what she was supposed to be doing when she met his bright green eyes and confident smile. He was just so… him. There was no other way she could put it. "W-well, we should probably e-establish the overall look and feel of the cafe and then figure out the kinds of foods and costumes we're going to do." Adrien nodded along and Marinette continued. She continued down a list of things they'd have to have sorted out by the end of the day. They decided on three things to focus on that night: theme, food, and decor. They thought it was a good start. Adrien was proud of the fact that they had made such a cohesive plan. Marinette was just glad that she hadn't fainted from pure Adrien exposure. The homeroom bell rang and the duo agreed to text about details later that night. It was a sound plan that sent Marinette to cloud nine.

Alya and Nino took their seats as Ms. Bustier called for the class' attention. Alya elbowed Marinette but the blue eyed girl just gave her friend a side long glance. Alya giggled at her friend's reaction while taking out her class materials. Alya's plan had gone off perfectly, with just the slight Chloe hiccup but that was to be expected. Alya didn't expect Marinette to suddenly be a social butterfly around the teen model but the fact that Marinette actually talked to him for a prolonged amount of time was a true accomplishment. Marinette scribbled in her notebook as Ms. Bustier lectured on Camus and his strange works. Classes flew by and Marinette scribbled more. She scribbled ideas for costumes and themes and stories and foods to fit this imaginative world.

Meanwhile, Adrien's head flipped from literature to designs. Admittedly, he wasn't very creative. Ironic, considering that his father was a top fashion designer. At least his scientific skills made up for his lack of creativity. His mind kept returning to the bakery. To Marinette's parents whose croissants were pastry heaven. He could pig out all he wanted there, everything was so good. Almost too good. It was homey and comfortable. Did he want a simple cafe like the Dupain-Cheng's or something zany like those ones from Japan that he had about from the internet. Or did he want something more themed? Like superheroes, mythology, animals? He wasn't sure and indecisiveness quickly took root.

The lunch bell soon rang and the whole class quickly filed outside. Some gathered into their usual groups, but many talked to their festival partners. No one wanted to go home today. The cafe idea had everyone excited. It was something new, completely new. Not just to their class but to their school in general. Sure, cafes had been done. Themed cafes weren't new either, but none ever did full costumes. There weren't enough artsy students but Bustier's class had plenty of artistic talent to spare. It was a perfect recipe for a new and exciting exhibit.

"What do you mean we should do superheroes?" Chloe screeched while Nathaniel shrunk into his shoulders. He held his sketchbook out in front of him like a flimsy shield but it did little to protect him from Chloe and Sabrina's glares. The blonde flipped her ponytail. "Well, I believe that idea is complete garbage," she mused, "We should have something elegant and extravagant like a ball. I could be the queen, and…" she looked around the room and pulled Adrien from his seat, "Adrien could be Prince Charming. Isn't it perfect?"

Adrien gritted his teeth as he pulled away from Chloe's grasp. He quickly pasted on a faint smile. "Look, Chloe. I'm not sure that's exactly what we're going for here."

"Oh Adrien, you're so naive. Someone needs to teach you about the ways of school festivals. The exhibits are supposed to be glamorous, right?"

Adrien opened his mouth to answer but Ms. Bustier came to his rescue with her heels clacking against the floor. "Chloe," she snapped, "Please respect the opinions of your peers."

Chloe huffed before turning to the teacher. "But miss!" Ms. Bustier glared at the young girl. Chloe gave in and returned to her seat. "Yes, miss," she murmured before walking back to her seat with Sabrina at her side.

Ms. Bustier returned to her seat and Nathaniel approached Adrien. "Thank you for doing that." Nathaniel said to the irritated model. Adrien didn't like conflict. He especially didn't like Chloe stirring the pot to better her position. How was she his only friend before school? He couldn't figure out why he ever played with her.

"Oh, no problem," he said with a grin. He managed to shoo away some of his irritation but some still persisted in the crevices of his mind.

"Oh right," Nathaniel said, lifting his notebook, "Have you and Marinette figured out our theme?" Adrien bit his lip. That's what he needed to talk to Marinette for. Adrien shook his head. Nathaniel looked down to his battered notebook, "Well, I hope that you two will take this into consideration." Nathaniel opened his notebook to showcase a scene with Ladybug, Chat Noir, and an assortment of original, animal themed superheroes. The cityscape behind the heroes was dotted with square windows and dotted stars.

Adrien smiled at his classmates drawings. "That's really cool," he said, "Mind if I take a picture?" Nathaniel shook his head with a slightly confident smile. Adrien snapped the photo. He was so going to show this to Marinette that night. He wondered what she would think, especially since she got a daily dose of Ladybug and Chat Noir from Alya. Would she be annoyed by it or excited? He didn't know. He looked at the photo on his phone again. Nathaniel was almost too good at drawing it seemed. Ladybug's triumphant smile was perfectly captured in the pencil drawing and it made Adrien's heart skip.


	3. Ideas and Heartache

The lunch bell rang and Adrien meticulously folded the drawing into his pocket. He had to show Marinette later; he couldn't wait. The rest of the classes passed by quickly as the afternoon sun climbed high into the sky. The students quickly packed up their bags as the final bell chimed; it was finally time to go home.

Marinette packed but Alya interrupted her with a tap on the shoulder. Marinette rolled her eyes but gave her friend an ear. With a smile, Alya whispered into Marinette's ear, "Hey, play along, ok?" Marinette was about to object, but Alya beat her to the punch when she called for Nino. Marinette's stomach dropped. Alya's last plan had planted her as Adrien's partner for a month. She feared for what her friend had in store for her.

Adrien and Nino came to the girl's side like a joint package. Marinette's heart hammered as she caught a glance of the blonde. Alya leaned over her desk. "Hey, why don't we head somewhere and talk about the festival for a bit?" she mused with a knowing smile. She gave a wink to Nino, and the music lover winked back after a moment. "Don't you think so, Marinette?"

Marinette nervously glanced over to Adrien as she fully turned to Alya with a stupid grin spread across her face. Her mind went blank for a minute. What did Alya even ask her? She just nodded, it seemed like the right thing to do. Alya quietly cheered as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Alright, let's go dudes!" Nino said, leading the way to the door. Alya took Marinette by the arm as Adrien followed Nino. Marinette followed the short train all the way to the park where they sat around a petal covered bench. Spring was in full swing as the trees showcased their brightly colored blossoms. It wasn't until a pink petal landed on Marionette's freckled nose that she noticed how alone she was with Adrien. She was in a daze before that, too much Adrien exposure. Nino and Alya had turned to each other, deep in flirtatious conversation, leaving Marinette and Adrien as a pair of third wheels.

Marinette couldn't help but think that Alya had this alone time in the park planned but she just pasted on her too wide grin. Adrien was right next to her, she couldn't screw this up.

Adrien fumbled with the paper in his pocket. "Hey Marinette," he said, turning to the girl. Marinette jumped at his voice but turned to him, her grin only growing. Adrien took note of her quirky smile as he took out the sketches. "Nathaniel thought of this," he unfolded the drawing, revealing the line of superheroes, including Ladybug and Chat Noir. Adrien and Marinette felt a wave of self awareness as they viewed the array of different characters and the darkened cityscape behind them. A red tint creeped into Marinette's cheeks as she noticed how close Adrien had gotten.

"Those are cool," she said, lightly grabbing one of the paper's corners to get a better view.

Adrien nodded. "That's what I thought. So what do you think?"

Marinette closed her eyes. The idea was cool especially since the city already had its own superheroes. They could play into that. But would it be safe for her to dress up like a hero? Someone might put her as Ladybug due to her blue eyes and black pigtails. There were plenty of similarities, for good reason. But what were the chances? Surely she could get out of that predicament rather easily. "I-I think that will be g-great. I mean like you d-don't have to put on a costume to be great, but I mean, you know what I mean," she rambled, nervously scratching her head.

Adrien chuckled. Right, she was cute. Not quite adorable, more like adorkable. There goes his inner Chat Noir, but it was true. "Right, I thought so to, but…" he trailed off, thinking of the missing piece. The crime fighting scene was good concept, but was it right for their cafe? Cafes were comforting, not aggressive or loud. Chat Noir was loud, but Adrien Agreste was calm. Where was the balance? Could the class really pull of a cafe that sported ass-kicking, spandex-wearing heroes? Maybe. Maybe not.

"But?"

Adrien sighed, "I don't know, I feel that something is missing."

"Like?"

"I'm not sure. Ambience maybe?

"Ambience?" Marinette said, closing her eyes. She thought of home and the nearby cafes. Sure, she didn't live in a cafe but a bakery was close enough, right? She thought of their sunny storefront. Marinette's mother always stressed presentation. All the pastries always had neat piping due to her father's steady hand but the shop's decor was her mother's doing. She thought of their simple cabinets and plethora of soft colors. It felt like, well, home to her. Soft and comforting, especially with a hot pastry and drink in hand. Was that what they were missing? Light colors? No, it was something else. She looked down at the drawing again, clearly conscious of how close her hands were to his. "Warmth," she finally murmured.

"Warmth?" Adrien responded with a small smile. Maybe that was it. Yes that was it. The Dupain-Cheng's bakery was warm and comfortable and so so so like home. That was the only way to describe it, a warm home. A warm home for heroes. Adrien's smile grew. He got it. "How about we do a warm home for heroes?" he flipped the drawing over and pulled out a pen; hopefully Nathaniel wouldn't mind his drawing getting a little marred. Admittedly, Adrien's art skills weren't the best, but he hoped that his smiling super heroes in front of a quaint home and garden got the message across. He placed hot drinks and piping croissants in the characters' stick like hands. Marinette stifled a giggle as Adrien finished his 'masterpiece'. "Something like this?" he said, whipping the drawing in front of Marinette's eyes.

A smile joined Marinette's usual blush as she surveyed the scraggly drawing. She liked it, the innocence of it. She nodded and Adrien smiled ear to ear.

Alya and Nino glanced towards their friends grinning to themselves. They turned to each other with a nod as Alya brought out her phone. "Oh my, look at the time," she exclaimed, bringing Marinette and Adrien out of their little bubble. "Nino, I think we better get going. You still wanted to check out that comic shop, right?"

Nino stood, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "Right. Sorry Adrien, I'm going to split. I'll see you tomorrow though, dude." He gave Adrien a wink before grabbing Alya's hand and strolling to the busy street ahead.

Marinette tried to call out to Alya but the brunette was already around the corner and next to the bustling street. Marinette's heart raced as the truth of the situation weighed down on her. She was alone with Adrien. Alone with him with actual work to do. This wasn't like the training for the game competition. She didn't have to actually talk to him then, but now she did. She had to discuss and plan and design and everything with him. Over text was one thing, face to face was another.

Adrien stared at the drawing in his hand. He wondered why Marinette's face suddenly burst red when the love birds left and why she didn't look him in the eye. Cute and awkward, that's what she was. "Well, is this the plan then?" he said, shaking the drawing.

"A-ah well, I think it's good. So heroes at home, huh? It certainly is d-different. I m-mean it's great. Like it is, like you. I mean, oh, um never mind." She took the drawing, still not meeting his eyes. "I'll run this by Bustier in the morning," she sheepishly explained.

"Ok, I hope she likes it."

"Me too."

The two parted ways soon after. Adrien had fencing practice; he was lucky just for postponing it. He wished he could stay longer, Marinette was actually talking to him. Sure, it wasn't very smooth, but she was nice. Another friend wouldn't hurt.

Marinette hurried home with a new found sense of accomplishment blooming in her chest. She had talked to him and actually had conversation. She had talked to Adrien Agreste. Her parents barely had time to greet their daughter before the teen zipped into her bedroom. Tikki flew from her purse and floated around Marinette as she took out a fresh sketchbook.

"Marinette," Tiki said, floating in front of the girl's eyes. "Are you really going to dress up for this?"

"I think I have to. Don't worry, I'll keep far away from the Ladybug costume. I don't want to get recognized."

Tiki sighed with relief. "Good."

Marinette soon had her head down, quickly sketching out character after character, all with different motifs. Some were animals, others were plants. She didn't want to go into general heroes like Superman or Green Lantern. She wanted the unique, imaginative ones. Tiki watched as design after design flew from Marinette's hands.

Meanwhile, Adrien flew through his fencing lesson before hopping into his car where Nathalie constantly read her trust clipboard. Did she ever leave that thing behind? She went over tomorrow's schedule but Adrien tuned her out in favor of envisioning heroes enjoying a latte. Nathalie smiled as she saw the boy deep in happy thought. She hadn't seen him that since, well, since Mrs. Agreste's disappearance. She wished that the boy could always be happy like that but she knew that Adrien felt his father's distance the hardest.

"Hey Nathalie," Adrien said, "do you think that father would go to a spring festival, even for just an hour?"

Nathalie's eyebrows quirked but she gently smiled as the question sunk in. "Maybe. He's a busy man. If nothing else, I will be there and so will your guard."

Adrien sighed. He knew that was true. He also knew that Nathalie's answer was her nice way of saying 'probably not'. Still he was going to try. He wanted to show his father the world he was creating with his friends, the friends that Mr. Agreste had said were a bad influence. Was it to prove him wrong? Maybe. An act of rebellion? Slightly. More like a showcase of worth. His friends had worth in Adrien's life, they weren't a waste of space or time. "Thanks, Nathalie."

Nathalie nodded but her smile soon disappeared. She might have a talk with her boss.

They arrived at the Agreste mansion soon after. Nathalie and the Gorilla followed Adrien into the home. The boy soon entered his father's office, head held high but expectations low. "Father?"

Mr. Agreste looks up from the mess of papers that littered his desk. "Yes?"

"Are you busy in a few weeks?"

Mr. Agreste pinched the bridge of his nose. "May I ask why?"

Adrien shrunk slightly. His father's stress couldn't be clearer, but he still wanted to ask. It was a reasonable request. It was a normal thing for a father to attend, right? Adrien kept his head high as he stepped further into the room. "Well, there's this festival at my school and I'm helping organize my class' exhibit." Mr. Agreste looked up, and Adrien continued, "And I was wondering if you were able to come."

"Is this why you were late to fencing today? You were off with your friends playing adult?"

"Yes. I mean no. We weren't playing. We were working, I swear."

Mr. Agreste adjusted his glasses and returned to his papers. "I'll see if I can go, but I don't want you getting distracted."

"Yes, sir," Adrien said, leaving the room with slightly hunched shoulders.

Nathalie watched the boy as he retreated into his room. She sighed and clutched her clipboard. Why couldn't Mr. Agreste just go for his son? Sure, his wife was gone, but his son was still there. Suffering no less. She prepared to enter the office but stood just outside the threshold instead. She gritted her teeth while Hawk Moth smirked from his lair.


	4. Priorities and Decisions

Nathalie stepped into Mr. Agreste's office, clipboard firmly pressed to her chest. "Sir," she stated, "Won't you please reconsider?"

Mr. Agreste looked up from his work and groaned, "Nathalie, please don't disturb me while I work."

"But sir, Adrien is really looking forward to this festival, won't you ple-"

"Nathalie," he growled, "please leave me for now. I have a new line to design." His animosity resonated in his sharp words. Irritation bubbled in his gut as the secretary continued to clutch her clipboard. He didn't want to face the school, not yet and not without her. His wife's disappearance only made Adrien's entry into public school all the more troublesome. He would be alone with all the other parents and their undisciplined children. He couldn't face it; he didn't want to face any of it alone.

"Yes, sir." Nathalie turned into the hallway and briskly walked to her office where she slammed her clipboard onto her desk. The board falling to the floor didn't stop her from putting her head onto her desk. She was tired of this, all the subdued drama between father and son.

Hawk Moth smiled at his vast window as he tainted a pure butterfly. He sent the newborn akuma to the unsuspecting Nathalie. It fluttered to the clipboard, enveloping it in a violet glow. Nathalie huffed as she picked up the fallen board. Hawk Moth's signature purple mask appeared as his voice rang in Nathalie's ears.

"I am Hawk Moth and you are now Mistress Mind," he mused, "I'm sure you can convince your boss to tend to his son, but you must do something for me. Find Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculouses and bring them to me."

Nathalie smiled. "Of course, Hawk Moth." Purple mist surrounded the secretary, turning her baby blue eyes to violet and turning her clipboard black. Her work attire stayed relatively the same except for the addition of a black pendant around her neck, the new dark violet turtleneck, and her signature red hair streak turning the same shade. Mistress Mind smirked as she returned to Mr. Agreste's office and stood before his desk. The designer grumbled as he took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Nathalie, please leave me alone, I'm very busy."

Mistress Mind bit her tongue. She couldn't have her cover blown, not yet anyways. She pasted on a smile, "Sir, there's an email I'd like you to look at something. I think it has to do with next season's possible trends." Mr. Agreste sighed as he looked up and locked eyes with Mistress Mind. Her violet irises glowed as a list appeared on her clipboard.

She read Mr. Agreste's list of priorities:

Wife

Adrien

Work

Mistress Mind's brows quirked as she read the list. Adrien was higher than she thought but that didn't deter her from rewriting the list and putting Adrien at the top. She locked eyes with her boss once again, sealing her changes. Mr. Agreste's eyes glowed violet around his icy blue as he stood and walked over to his son's room. Mistress Mind's smile was unmistakable as she watched her boss walk down the grand halls.

Adrien sat before his computer, viewing the Ladyblog. That was what he did when he was down: view his confident alter ego and his stunning partner. He wondered if she was nearly as lonely as he was. Probably not, she was so bright and happy and, well, her. His dumb grin did little against the growing pit in his gut. He wished that his father would take his school activities seriously. He knew that he was busy, designing the next wave of high fashion and managing a successful magazine. He knew that none of that was a small feat. But he also knew that Mr. Agreste was his father.

Three knocks resounded from his door. He closed the browser and saw his mother's portrait. A new wave of loneliness washed over him as he faced the door.

"Come in." Mr. Agreste opened the door and approached his son. Adrien's eyes widened in surprise as he stood. "Father?"

A wide smile spread on Mr. Agreste's face. Adrien tried to stay composed as he felt butterflies in his stomach. What could his father possibly be happy about? Was there a break in his schedule? Either of their schedules? Was there a lead on his mother? Was there a favorable trend coming their way? What was it? Adrien's mind buzzed as Mr. Agreste slowly approached his boy. Adrien's surprise kept him from registering the minute purple ring around his father's blue eyes.

Mr. Agreste knelt to Adrien's level, keeping strong eye contact with his son. "What was that about a festival earlier?"

Adrien took a moment to blink at his father. He pushed himself further into his office chair, gripping the armrests. What was with the sudden surge of compassion? "Umm well, my class and I are doing a costume cafe, and I just wanted to know if you'd go." Adrien felt weird to be repeating the request but his father's endearing eyes made his discomfort dissipate. His father was actually looking at him, not his report card or his schedule.

Mr. Agreste closed his eyes, his smile softening. "Of course," he murmured. He leaned in towards his son and wrapped his arms around him. Adrien froze beneath his father, mind racing. What the literal hell was going on? The last time his father had hugged him was when Simon Says attacked. That made sense, they were all put in danger for an afternoon. A hug made sense then. But now? There was nothing to hug about. They had just sort of fought for Christ's sake.

Mr. Agreste stood, leaving Adrien with a blank expression. He didn't know if he should give in to elation for fall into complete shock. Both were viable options. Mr. Agreste met his boy's eyes. "I'll be there, don't worry. Even if I have to clear every one of my appointments, I'll be there."

Adrien smiled, "Thank you, father!"

Mr. Agreste held out his hand, "Call me Dad, please."

"R-right, thanks Dad!"

Mr. Agreste chuckled and gave Adrien a friendly wave as he left the room. Adrien sat in his chair, shocked, as Plagg zipped out of his hiding placing.

"What's up with him?" Plagg said as he flew in front of Adrien's unfocused eyes. Adrien shrugged. "You don't think that he's acting a bit weird?" He shrugged again. Plagg sighed, "Alright, whatever daddy's boy. But can't you just feed me already? I'm absolutely starving!"

"Sure," Adrien mumbled as he stared at the closed door. What was going on with his father? Plagg sighed as he went to get his cheese himself.

Morning rays drifted into Adrien's room as the young boy stirred out of light sleep. The hug and his father's promise kept creeping into his thoughts as he tried to sleep. The thoughts won. Adrien got up and dressed as Plagg laid about whining for more cheese. Adrien huffed as he brought out a fresh wedge for the gluttonous kwami. He couldn't be bothered with Plagg's whining. He had bigger things to think about, like his father's change of heart. Was his dad's heart of ice finally melting?

He stepped into the dining room with his messenger bag over his shoulder. Adrien fully expected an empty dining room with only Nathalie standing by the table with his food ready. He didn't see his expectations. Mr. Agreste sat by his son's head seat with a cup of coffee and the morning paper. Mr. Agreste smiled as he noticed Adrien in the doorway.

"Oh Adrien! You're finally up!" he said with a smile.

Adrien was taken aback but returns the smile after a moment. "R-right, fa- dad."

Mr. Agreste patted Adrien's usual seat and the boy obliged, setting his bag on the opposite side in case Plagg decided to take a little peek at the situation. (It was an inevitability. The little feline never knew when to just stay put. Curiosity truly did get to this cat). A piping hot croissant, Adrien's favorite, sat before him. What was with the special treat? Where was the meticulously balanced, nutrient rich meal he was used to? The model diet didn't usually allow pastries. The cook usually had some kind of extravagant, if slightly small, meal ready to go. But that day it was just fruit, a croissant, and coffee. Almost like a normal person's breakfast.

Nathalie was nowhere to be found. Adrien inconspicuously looked around the room for the secretary but only his father occupied the grand space. His endearing eyes and small smile burned through Adrien. How long had it been since he had seen that expression on his father's face? Adrien thought back to his parents' old wedding photos. Yes, that was the last time he saw that smile on his father's face. He thought at least. Memories were weird.

He glanced between the meal and his father several times before picking up the croissant. Adrien took a bite and immediately fell in love with the buttery flavor. It wasn't from the Dupain - Cheng bakery but it sure competed with all of its scrumptious layers. Mr. Agreste smiled as he sipped on his coffee. Sparse conversations was exchanged but Adrien enjoyed his breakfast with his father. It was a welcome change from the usually silence and solitude he felt in the morning.

Adrien finished his breakfast too soon for his liking, but school was going to start. He had to go now. He thanked his father for the meal before heading towards the door. Mr. Agreste followed his son to the door and even to the garage, eventually reaching the right side door of the luxury vehicle. Adrien quirked an eyebrow as his father climbed into the driver's seat. What the hell was the only thing flashing through Adrien's mind as his father waved him into the car.

"What're you waiting for, Adrien? Do you want to be late to school?"

Firstly, his father was taking him to school. Secondly, his father was taking him to the school that he hated Adrien attending in the first place. Adrien pinched his wrist, but he wasn't dreaming. He knew something was up, but should he have stopped it? Maybe his dad had a change of heart.

Adrien climbed into the passenger seat, not even the Gorilla was coming. It was just the two Agrestes heading to school as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

They arrived at the school, and to say that Nino was shocked would be an understatement. The wannabe DJ's jaw practically hit the pavement as Adrien rolled up to the school. Mr. Agreste gave Adrien a final side hug before the boy exited the car. Adrien barely reached his school's front steps before Nino had his arms around the model's shoulders.

"Dude, what's up with your dad? It's as if he grew a heart all of a sudden." Nino said.

Adrien just shrugged as the school bell rang. The duo ran to their first class where Ms. Bustier already had 'Work Time' written across the board in swooping handwriting. Nino went off to meet with the other marketing and design people as Adrien walked over to his usual seat in front of Marinette. His eyes were cast off in the distance as he set his bag down.

Marinette's heart jumped as Adrien took his seat but she managed to notice the out of this world happy vibe his bright green eyes gave. What could be making the boy so happy? She wanted to know but she also wanted to get some work done. With her luck, Hawk Moth would have an attack very soon. Sooner than she expected in this case. With clammy hands she tapped Adrien's shoulder. Adrien shook himself out of his cloud of thought.

"Umm, A-Adrien, what should we t-tell the other teams? We should probably have d-design together for them to work with and all., I mean I'm not saying that you're too slow or anything, just I don't know. Like you know, umm hi?"

Adrien nodded and pulled out Nathaniel's drawing from his bag while Marinette gathered up her newly filled out sketchbook. As the various teams got to know their coworkers and work out their schedules, Marinette and Adrien approached Ms. Bustier's desk. The French literature teacher smiled as the teens approached her desk with the sketches in hand.

"Ms. Bustier, we've come up with a concept. Can you take a look?"

Ms. Bustier nodded as Adrien slid Nathaniel's sketch onto the table and Marinette set her sketchbook down.

"We were thinking of doing a heroes' cafe, but with them at home. Like where superheroes can relax and have a latte between akuma attacks." Adrien explained with a scratch to the back of head. Was he explaining this right? Maybe? He hoped.

Ms. Bustier looked at Adrien's sketch on the back before moving onto the sketchbook. Her grin only grew as she examined the various designs. Adrien's bright green eyes widened as he caught glimpses at Marinette's detailed designs. He knew that the girl was talented but he had no idea that she was this gifted. Ms. Bustier nodded along as she reviewed more of the superhero characters. She finally collected all of the designs into a neat pile.

"Good, good!" she exclaimed, "This will be perfect. Go on ahead."

Marinette and Adrien barely held in their excitement as they stepped to the front of the class. Ms. Bustier called for the class' attention with a couple of quick claps. A majority of the class looked to the front with varying degrees of attention paid towards the organizers. Marinette went to the board and quickly began sketching with the chalk. This caught their classmates' attention. Adrien looked over his shoulder as his partner sketched out Ladybug and Chat Noir enjoying lattes in front of a picturesque windowsill. He thought about what it would be like to actually do that with his bugaboo. Butterflies invaded his gut just thinking about it. He turned around before he could delve deeper into the innocent fantasy.

He smiled while saying, "So, for our theme, we're thinking of doing superheroes," He shot a glance at Nathaniel's whose grin was unmistakable, "Except we don't want to see their crime fighting side. We want to show the world what they're like on a Sunday afternoon. So what do you all think?"

The class gave overwhelming approval with thumbs up and wide grins. Chloe still stuck her nose up at the whole idea even though Sabrina clapped along with the class. Adrien nodded over to his blushing partner who was just finishing the drawing. They were going to do this and win this year. Ms. Bustier quieted the class again before returning everyone to their groups, leaving Adrien and Marinette alone in their seats to hammer out the details.

Marinette's eyes returned to her lap as Adrien turned to her seat with a notepad in front of him. What did they have left? Right, the food. That was important. Also the designs, Marinette had to share them with the design and costume teams.

Marinette clutched her notebook. She didn't want to step away from Adrien, but at the same time how could she talk to him? Adrien tapped onto the notepad.

"Well I'm going to see what we can make," he said, grabbing a pencil from his bag.

Marinette nodded. "Right," she squeaked while pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, "I'll talk to the teams and show them the drawings then."

Adrien smiled, "Nice drawings by the way. They're amazing."

"Really? I mean, thanks, I mean not as amazing as you, but yes thanks, I guess they're pretty good."

Adrien snorted. Sure, the stuttering girl in front of him was weird, but somehow endearing. She was cute, not quite adorable. Quirky but not quite nerdy. She was a bright and zany spot in his overly structured life. He wouldn't mind getting close to the aspiring designer. He stood, grabbing his notepad. "I'll see you in a bit, then."

"R-right."

Marinette stood as well and headed to the design teams that had congregated in the back of the classroom. Adrien watched her before rushing to the school's kitchen he didn't want to run out of time. Physics was his favorite class and he'd hate to be late.

In his rush though, he forgot his pen.


	5. Cheese and Discoveries

Adrien dashed down the stairs to the school kitchen. Plagg peeked from behind Adrien's over shirt with a rumbling stomach. The cat kwami sniffed around as Adrien opened the fridge with the notepad still under his arm. He felt something missing, but couldn't put his finger on it as he entered the walk in fridge filled with bulk packages of local foods. Adrien wasn't really sure what he was supposed to look for so he wandered aimlessly around the metal racks. Plagg took his chosen's distraction as a chance to float around and look for a midmorning snack.

Back in the classroom, Marinette quickly showed the teams the various sketches and notes her and Adrien had made. There weren't many questions but plenty of excited chatter (save for Chloe and Sabrina's stubborn grumbling).

Relieved, Marinette returned to her seat to look over her checklist. After the design was decided on, she just needed to relegate work. The class buzzed for a moment before Marinette noticed Adrien's pen by his seat. Great, she thought. He couldn't possibly write anything down without a pen. She looked around for Alya, but the brunette was busy chatting with Rose about the design of the web ad.

Marinette gave Alya a worrying look. The pen being there meant that Adrien had forgotten it and he needed it. But she didn't want to give it to him alone. Anything than that. She wouldn't be able to deal with it. Alya gave her friend a quizzical look as Rose rambled on about fragrances and different types of flowers. The brunette looked to Marinette with her hopeful bluebell eyes and then to the discarded pen. Dots connected and she smirked. Marinette sighed. Looks like she was going alone.

Marinette grabbed the pen, making sure to stick her tongue out at Alya as she walked out. Alya chuckled to herself before turning back to her conversation with the perfume obsessed blonde. Should they have perfumed advertisements?

Plagg bumped into cold trays and door handles as he floated around the large refrigerator. The kwami continued to wander around the various trays and corners until he came upon a circle of prepackaged cheeses. He slipped behind the door to fight with the tin foil packaging with his stubby arms. Kwamis didn't really have thumbs, or fingers really.

Marinette's heart hammered as she descended the stairs to the cafeteria and kitchen. Her manicured nails dug into her palm as she clutched the pen. Was this really necessary? Of course. I mean, she got to talk to Adrien so it wasn't all bad. But, at the same time, she has to talk to Adrien. What if she choked like usual? He would think she was a bigger dork than usual.

She walked into the fridge, searching for the model's signature blonde locks. She passed by the fruits and veggies, nothing. To the dairy she went, but her heart stopped when she came near the cheese wedges. A small black cat was busy pulling at wrappers, drooling on the tin foil as his stubby hands slipped. Marinette's breath hitched as she retreated behind a corner. She figured that the kwami was with Chat Noir, but for it be at school must mean…

"Plagg, where are you?" Adrien whispered, quickly walking through the maze of refrigerator and carts. Marinette's heart went from 0 to 100 as she heard Adrien open the magnet sealed door and call the black cat a pig.

Adrien was Chat Noir. Shy, polite Adrien was that overly flirtatious cat!

Marinette looked down to her bag where Tikki looked up to her with big blue eyes. The kwami wasn't expecting her life long partner to be this close. Chat Noir being her chosen's one true love was too big of a stroke of luck even for the superhero. Usually Plagg's chosen was a bit more removed from Ladybug in real life. The heavens must've really loved this cycle.

But what was Marinette supposed to do now? Just come out and say hi? No, of course not. He'd freak out and she'd probably faint at least a little.

"Marinette?" Adrien piped in. He blinked at the girl, heart racing. Did she hear? He thought of course she didn't. She probably just got there, but he did wonder why she was kneeling on the floor staring at her purse and clutching a pen. His pen. Oh, he must have forgotten it.

Marinette shot to her feet, not looking him in the eye. "Oh Adrien!" she squeaked, "that's where you w-were. I was looking for you. Not like stalking anything. I mean, yes of course. Umm you forgot this." She stuck out the pen, almost whacking the model.

"Right." he said, gently grabbing the pen and scratching the back of his head. His usual habit. She was acting normal, for Marinette at least. Maybe she didn't hear or see anything, right? That's what Adrien hoped at least.

Unluckily for him, Marinette only saw her partner's smirk behind his polite smile. That's all she could think about. She just kept thinking that her partner was before her in normal clothes, not flirting or messing around. Her partner wasn't some playboy, just a friendly, overachieving model. Now she felt bad about putting down all of his advances. But now she was thinking about all the times that they had been piled on top of each other or tied together. How close they had been to each other. How close she had been to him. A faint blush crawled into her cheeks. She had been so close to Adrien on so many occasions.

The bell rang, pulling Marinette out of her spiraling pool of embarrassing superhero memories.

"We should head back," Adrien said, walking towards the door. Marinette nodded and followed her clueless partner back to the classroom where Chloe fumed at her desk and the rest of their classmates settled down for class.

Marinette scurried to her seat and hid behind her folder as Ms. Bustier called for the class' attention. Alya bumped Marinette's elbow but nothing could bring the young girl out of her flurry of racing thoughts. Her mind quickly sifted through all of her memories of Chat Noir. Where was Adrien in all that smugness and overconfidence? She couldn't see it, but he was the one in that black cat suit.

"Hey, girl. What's up with you? Finally confess your undying love?" she teased with a bright look in her eye and wide smile. Marinette just side glanced her friend as she vigorously shook her head. Alya shrugged before Ms. Bustier allowed in the physics teacher.

The school day went on as usual, but Nathalie - no Mistress Mind's - day was anything but normal. Mr. Agreste gave her civilian self the day off so he could focus on other things. Mistress Mind internally grimaced at the sound of her old name. It was just too normal for her tastes. She took the opportunity in stride though. With clipboard in hand, she strolled into the heart of Paris. Many young parents were out with their children while couples walked around. How should she use her newfound power? She had to bring out the super duo somehow. She couldn't have Adrien going to a neglected life, right? How could she possibly get the Miraculouses? She got it. With a smirk, she headed to the park. With the clipboard in front and her best professional smile pasted on, she approached an arguing couple. She tapped on one of the women's shoulder.

The woman whipped around, her blonde ponytail nearly smacked Mistress Mind in the face. She brushed off the woman's irritation and simply placed the clipboard in front of her thighs.

"Hello there, miss," Mistress Mind greeted with a warm grin. She just needed some eye contact, that was all.

"Yes?" the woman sighed, futilely trying to conceal her brewing frustration. Her wife rolled her eyes before going on to her phone.

"Nothing much, just doing a quick survey."

"A survey?" the woman lifted her eyes for the first time and Mistress Mind locked eyes with her. With gazes locked, words appeared on her page. The arguing woman blankly stared at Mistress Mind with violet circles around her eyes. With a smile, Mistress Mind scanned the woman's priorities. Her work was at the top, followed by a woman's name and finally a boy's name. She quickly moved the boy to the top before breaking her spell. The woman blinked a few times before running off. Her wife looked up from her phone confused before running after the first woman. The woman would go to the nearby elementary school and pull out her young son to just spend the day with him.

Mistress Mind had her plan and she soon set off to work on it. She went to the various adults wandering through the park and nearby shopping centers posing as a survey taker. As the day went on, she managed to put children at the top of many priority lists.

Marinette's mind never wandered too far away from her morning revelation as lessons tried to worm their way into her brain. None of it stuck. There were more important things on her mind. The fact that the blonde sat right in front of her was not helping matters. He just kept thinking about his father's weird change in behavior, but those thoughts were reserved for between lessons. Everything was normal for the most part. For the most part was the key word there.

Lunch came around and Marinette quickly left school grounds for her usual lunch spot, home. The only thing that managed to pull her out of her head was the abnormal amount of laughter in the air. Children were running everywhere with their parents not far behind. Was there some kind of federal holiday? Why was no one in work and why were fifth graders not in fifth period? She thought it strange but dismissed it to nothing more than early dismissal. Maybe there was some sort of accreditation needed at the local elementary school. Yeah, that would make sense.

A long line greeted Marinette as she approached the bakery. Children pointed to wanted pastries and parents willingly gave into the request. Whatever happened to nutrition? Marinette thought it weird but she just slipped through the side entrance to avoid the impatient children and parents. Many of them were shouting and she frankly couldn't deal with rude customers at the moment.

"Oh Marinette, you're home," her father called from the bakery, covered in fresh flour.

Marinette looked up to her father. "Oh hello, Papa," she said, pulling herself from her thoughts. They really were busy. Maybe she could help for a bit before heading back.

But first lunch. She headed to the kitchen where she fixed herself some leftovers. Tikki took the opportunity to zip out of Marinette's bag and float before her eyes.

"Marinette, what are you going to do?" the small kwami said as she settled herself at the table's edge.

Marinette shook her head. "I don't know."

"Should we say something?"

"Should I tell him?" Marinette squeaked.

Tikki looked down. "You're identity must stay secret, you know that."

Marinette scraped at her food. "I know, but it's Adrien. I see him everyday." The young girl picked at her food a bit more before her mother came in and Tikki zipped back into the purse. Marinette knew she had to pick up the pace. How could she explain to her mom what was bothering her? She quickly shoveled down the food before picking up her school bag again.

"Done already?" her mother said while grabbing some coin rolls from a nearby cabinet. There were too many customers with big bills and change was becoming an issue.

Marinette quickly nodded. "Yeah, I wanted to umm, do some homework before heading back," she said, gathering a tighter grip on her bag's strap. Her mother smelled something fishy but stopped herself from questioning the teen. Marinette wasn't one to keep secrets so she would come around and tell her about it later. That's what Mrs. Cheng thought at least. But Marinette's mind was swimming in secrets and backstories and alter egos as the young girl climbed into her room.


	6. Lunch and Thought

To say that Adrien was surprised when his father picked him up from school for lunch would be an understatement. He had to stop at the school's steps as he saw his father's figure behind the steering wheel. Gabriel's rare smile pulled Adrien out of his thoughts and into the passenger seat with Nino still gawking from the sidewalk. Neither of the boys could figure out the designers new found compassion, but Adrien wasn't minding it.

"How's your day been so far?" Adrien said, sparing a glance from the road to flash his son a new smile.

"G-great." Adrien said with an unrestrained grin.

"Glad to hear it."

Adrien sank into his seat. His father was so, well, fatherly today. He glanced out the window and saw the mansion pass by. Wait, where were they going? Adrien swung his head around to his father, but his father just kept watching the road with a fresh sparkle in his eye. A violet sparkle to be precise. "Where are we going?" Adrien said as the mansion flew out of view from the window.

"Lunch."

"Lunch?"

Adrien's question barely left him as they rolled up to a quaint cafe a few blocks away from the mansion. Adrien had always wanted to check out this place, it served comfort food from the world. He frankly didn't think he would be able to eat here until after his modeling days or graduation as a treat. He never ate out. Too much fat, sugar, and salt. It wasn't good for the physique or complexion. But here's his designer father, fully aware of all of this, taking him into the little eatery.

Gabriel parked and smiled over to Adrien as they went into the homey restaurant. Decadent scents bombarded Adrien. Buttery pastries and hearty stews swam through the eatery atop of waiters' platters. He couldn't help but drool a bit at the thought of tasting even just one of the dishes. How was he going to choose?

Numerous families occupied the tables and booths. Small children ate huge stacks of pancakes and bursting tarts while their parents laughed and followed along with their childish stories from elementary school. Adrien noted the number of children out of school but a waitress took him and his father to a window side table before he could think about it too much. Should he really be caring? His father, the tower of ice named Gabriel Agreste, was eating lunch with him and smiling. It was something straight out of Adrien's vision of a normal family. Well, as normal as it would ever get for him.

Adrien stared at the menu for a solid ten minutes while Gabriel simply asked for a coffee. The teen sincerely didn't know where to start. Should he start with something sweet? Maybe salty? Or should he stick to something healthier? He did have a shoot coming up in a few weeks. He couldn't risk a break out, so no greasy food. But that still left about half the menu to choose from.

Gabriel gave his son a knowing smile. "Order whatever you want," he says with a voice that Adrien hadn't heard since last year, since before his mother disappeared. Adrien decided to be modest by ordering a meal of duck breast and vegetables. This wasn't too bad, right? The salad course came soon after his order while his father just sipped on his coffee.

The meal continued. Any and all conversation was focused on Adrien, not fashion, or work, or grades, or the antics of his friends, just on him and his life. Adrien almost didn't know what to do with all of this paternal attention. The hour passed, many families came in and out, ordering the most grand meals for their little ones. Adrien found it suspicious but he was paying much more attention to his abnormally cheery father.

Sooner than Adrien had liked, the lunch hour ended. He finished his last macaron and wiped his mouth clean with a napkin. It was fun while it lasted but the restaurant's lunch time was nearly up and his classes were going to start soon. He couldn't possibly eat another bite anyways.

Adrien gathered up his bag and stood from the table. "Thank you so much for the meal, fa- I mean Dad," he says with the foreign title still leaving him tongue tied. How long has it been since he called Gabriel 'Dad' on a daily basis?

"You're welcome," Gabriel said before finishing off his second cup of black coffee. The father and son duo piled back into the luxury car. Adrien was completely prepared to return to school and hear Nino freak out about Adrien's surprise visit from father dearest, but his plans were dashed when they drove past the school.

Adrien turned to his father with heat creeping into his cheeks. What the hell was his father thinking? "Where are we going?" He sputtered as the school fell into the distance.

Gabriel smiled down to his son. "I feel like we haven't been spending enough time with each other lately," he said, sparing his son a gleeful glance before refocusing on the road. "So I thought you could come over to the studio."

The studio? Sure, Adrien never really went there anymore because he wasn't not very interested in the creative process (well, except with Marinette, her drawings always felt a lot more alive than his father's illustrations). Now Adrien's radar was on full force. His father was acting too strangely. Was it an akuma? Shit, of all the people to be affected, why did it have to be his father? He couldn't possibly get away to transform with his father like this, and he couldn't contact Ladybug either. Shit, if only he had some way to contact her out of costume, but that would impede on their civilian lives. But what if Gabriel wasn't akumatized? What if Adrien was wrong and his father was just turning over a new leaf?

He gritted his teeth in frustration. Gabriel failed to notice Adrien's growing irritation and anxiety as they drove into the business side of Paris. Gabriel leisurely led Adrien into a square, almost sterile building. The teen hero frankly couldn't remember how it used to look. Was it always so white and tasteless? Surely, such fun designs could not come from such an anal man and blank space. He used to be warmer and fun, like his clothes, but, since Adrien's mother left, Gabriel had been cold. Colder than cold, more like subzero and devoid of human kindness. Adrien liked to think that his father was replaced by an android, but the designs were still his style. Adrien knew it was Gabriel underneath the icy facade.

The duo bypassed the security lock and entered a vast space filled with neatly organized rolls of fabric, mannequins, and shelves filled with paper. A large desk, with neat stacks of paper and lines of pencils arranged on it, resided at the far side of the room.

Gabriel slowly walked over to his desk and Adrien took a seat in one of the few, simple chairs strewn throughout the space. He didn't know what he should do as his father showed him design after design. Adrien recognized many of the designs as this current season's lineup. He had just a done a shoot with many of the teen pieces.

Sure, seeing the behind the scenes work of modern fashion was interesting, but Adrien's mind was preoccupied with the emergence of a possible new akuma.

After some more freaking out to poor Tikki, it was time for Marinette to head back to school. She was no closer to coming up with a solution to her little predicament though. How was she supposed to talk to Adrien now? Like should she be normal even though she knows that that innocent face can spout out such horrible puns, or should she tell him? No, telling him would make everything at least twenty times more complicated. But Marinette couldn't just do nothing, could she? Tikki said to just let things play out and settle down, but 'settle down' wasn't in Marinette's vocabulary.

Marinette walked down to the bakery with her head still stuck in the clouds. Crowds were still bombarding the storefront. Screaming children and irritated parents took Marinette out of her thoughts. What the hell was even going on? Why were they all still here? Her parents frantically tried to tell the customers that they were out of chocolate which only made the situation worse. Something was amiss. Things never got this bad around the bakery, not even during Valentine's or Christmas. Marinette slipped through the agitated crowd and ran into the street where she retreated into a nearby alleyway.

She opened her purse to let Tikki roam free. "Oh, Tikki," Marinette said, "what's going on?"

Tikki shrugged. "I don't know, Marinette."

"It's as if kids run the town now." Marinette took a peek out of the alley and saw a number of children with sweets and new toys from their beaming guardians. She looked closely at the adults and noticed the faint violet ring around their eyes. Great, a controlling akuma. It was just her luck. She frankly found these kind of akuma the most annoying since the victim wasn't always in plain sight. Marinette scanned the street again for any flashy outfits or suspicious characters, but she found nothing more than children dominated families. The victim probably wasn't here.

"We need to find the akuma," Tikki said, waving her stubby arms in the air.

"Yes but the school will get suspicious if I go missing." Marinette's parents and teachers were already wary of her constant tardiness, and she couldn't risk missing more school unless it was absolutely necessary. There was no real danger and she didn't know where the akuma was anyways so it made no difference if she left now or after school, right?

Tikki sighed. Secret identities were hard to maintain when your attendance was constantly monitored. "You're right. Right after class we have to go out searching though." Marinette agreed, and Tikki zipped back into the purse.

Marinette had to run back to class in order to be in her seat just as the bell rang. Alya shoved Marinette's shoulder as the disguised superhero caught her breath. Marinette gave her friend a side glance, and Alya simply motioned to Adrien's seat. It was empty. Marinette didn't know what to say so she just looked at Alya wide eyed.

'Where is he?' Marinette mouthed.

Alya shrugged before tapping Nino on the shoulder. He had no clue where Adrien was either.

"Yeah dudes, last time I saw him, he was getting picked up by his dad," Nino whispered before Ms. Mendeleiev called for the class' attention.

Marinette had a bad feeling about Adrien's disappearance. She knew that Gabriel Agreste wasn't exactly father of the year. Was he trying to keep Adrien out of school again? No, he wouldn't drag him out midday like this unless it was for work. He wasn't excused so this wasn't planned. So where was he then? Marinette struggled to keep up with algebra and physics as speculations swam through her thoughts.

The final bell couldn't ring soon enough, and Marinette was soon out the door. She didn't stop to fix the team's problems or hang out with Alya. She had a job to do: capture the akuma and save Adrien. Ok, the first was her job, the second was a bonus. Nothing stopped her as she practically ran back to the bakery and up to her room. She threw a half white lie of needing to work on festival stuff and wouldn't be down for dinner. That gave her time. Hopefully enough.

Tikki zipped out as Marinette closed the door behind her.

"Alright Tikki, spots on!"

Adrien aimlessly walked around the studio as his father attempted to work, but Gabriel's adoring gaze never left Adrien for long. Adrien found it weird after the first hour. His father worked periodically, while Adrien flipped through the designs. He didn't how to talk to him. Gabriel wasn't exactly known for small talk or heart to hearts. They could talk about work but Gabriel's newfound sense of fatherhood wouldn't allow it. Gabriel wanted to nurture his son and show his love for him. He had been cold, but the fluttering feeling in his chest made him want to hold Adrien close and see the boy's smile.

The hours passed, and Gabriel enjoyed every second of it. He enjoyed just being in his son's space and to spend time with him, but Adrien was wound up the entire time. He couldn't wait to get out of the stuffy studio. Something was wrong. He knew it and he needed to investigate.

Four o'clock finally came around and Gabriel gathered his notebooks. Finally it was time to go. Adrien practically ran to the car as he and Gabriel exited the studio.

"Did you have fun?" Gabriel asked, again sparing a glance from the road. Adrien slowly nodded. He knew something was up with his father, but he wasn't about to be rude. He didn't know if Gabriel would remember any of this, but Adrien wanted to enjoy it just a little. Gabriel's smile grew slightly. "Good, I know that design isn't your passion, but I'm glad that you like the studio."

"Yeah, it was interesting," Adrien said, staring at his hands in his lap. It was interesting, to an extent, but physics would've been more fascinating. His friends would've found the studio far more interesting.

The mansion couldn't have come into view soon enough for Adrien. Gabriel and Adrien exited the car soon after pulling into the driveway. Gabriel tried to follow his son to his room but Adrien needed to do homework. That's what he said at least. Gabriel reluctantly complied.

With a heavy heart, Gabriel went to his office to shuffle papers around while Adrien locked his bedroom door. Adrien sighed as Plagg zipped out.

"Hey, where's my cheese and what's with your dad?" Plagg whined as Adrien slumped onto his bed.

Adrien opened a nearby tupperware and pulled out a piece of the stinky cheese. "I don't know," Adrien mumbled as Plagg swooped in and snatched the cheese wedge.

"He seems awfully fatherly lately," he said between mouthfuls.

Adrien nodded. "Yeah, almost too fatherly." Adrien stood and said, "Come on Plagg, something isn't right. Claws out!"


	7. Daddy is Here

[A/N] I hope you all are having an awesome day and enjoy this chapter :). But for some not so great news, I will be on hiatus for the next month :(. I'm sorry about that, but I hope you all stick around until then. :D. Anyways enjoy!

Ladybug zipped across the city, surveying the various families wandering down the roads. Spoiled children enjoyed treats and new toys while adoring parents simply watched on with adoring smiles. Ladybug loved seeing all the joyful faces, but she knew they were bad news. Her gut twisted as she perched herself on the Eiffel Tower. She didn't even know where to start with all the families wandering around the city. She needed something. A clue. A hint. Flashy costume. Stupid nickname. Anything. But she found nothing from her vantage point in the historic tower.

Realization hit Ladybug as she swung her legs in the breeze. Chat was coming. Chat was Adrien and she was about to fight the akuma with him. With Adrien. Oh shit, how was she supposed to face him? He was her perfect classmate, not just her dorky partner. Should she just play off her nerves? She kind of had to. Chat couldn't know that she knew his identity. More so, he couldn't know what a klutz she was in real life. He loved Ladybug. Adrien loved the confident heroine, not the clumsy wannabe designer.

Chat Noir crawled through his bedroom window and soon found himself leaping across rooftops. Something was up with his father. Was it just Gabriel? He glanced at the sidewalks as he bound across the city. He noticed the plethora of happy families, just like at the restaurant. So he wasn't the only one. It had to be an akuma. There was almost no doubt left in Adrien's mind. With a heavy sigh, he approached Ladybug. Her appearance brought Chat Noir a small amount of comfort, but nothing could fully fill the hole growing in his gut.

"Well hello there, my lady," he said with his signature grin. She didn't need to know about the realization gnawing at him. She didn't need to know about his loneliness. She just needed his help in catching the latest akuma. Yes, and that was what he was going to do.

Ladybug's stomach dropped as she heard Chat's staff clink against the metal support. She smiled without having to even turn around. "H - Hello," she said with her grin soon vanishing as he took a seat next to her. Her heart hammered as his presence became all too real. This was Adrien sitting next to her. It was Adrien talking to her like it was nothing. A moment passed before Ladybug said, "I-I think we have a challenge ahead of us."

Chat Noir sighed. He knew that Ladybug would worry. She always did. She didn't like the unknown, he'd come to realize that through her strategizing fighting style. He always noticed her eyes whipping around at every fight, taking in every detail for any possible solutions. He knew that she liked knowing the variables. He always thought that she would be a great detective. Hell, maybe that was her day job. "Yeah," he mumbled, thinking of his afflicted father waiting at home. He knew that Ladybug didn't like the unknown, but why was she stuttering? Something had her on edge, but the black clad hero couldn't figure it out.

With yo-yo in hand, Ladybug stood. "Well, n-nothing is going to get done with us just sitting here." Ladybug spun her yo-yo as Chat Noir stood with a fresh grin on. She always cheered him up somehow. He nodded and the duo embarked into the city.

They lowered themselves atop a building near a relatively popular park. The last thing they needed was to be swamped by a sea of newly spoiled brats. Ladybug already knew that she wouldn't be able to refuse any of the children's baby doll eyes, and she couldn't afford to be slowed down by excited tikes. Chat Noir didn't want to be near the kids either. They were happy and he knew that it wasn't going to last much longer. He knew that the akuma would soon be defeated and they would go back to their mundane lives. Chat Noir almost found it sad, but he knew it was necessary. "What do you think the akuma looks like?" Chat Noir inquired while leaning against his staff.

Ladybug's bluebell eyes zipped around the park and surrounding shops. She just saw more joyous faces but no akuma. Not an obvious one at least. Who the hell could it be? She kept thinking and looking without sparing a glance at her partner.

Mistress Mind continued her silent rampage through the Parisian streets as the afternoon hours rolled by. Her hand never stopped scribbling on her clipboard as she affected every adult who crossed her path. Accomplishment welled in her chest as the number of happy children grew. She knew that she was helping everyone, not just young Adrien.

She had just caught the attention of another adult when her hand stopped moving. A sharp pain wormed its way through her arm into head as Hawkmoth's signature mask glowed.

"What are you doing?" Hawkmoth growled through the telepathic connection. Mistress Mind gritted her teeth as the voice rang in her ears. "Gather the Miraculous before I take your power, do you understand?"

"Yes, Hawkmoth," Mistress Mind groaned as he hand cramped under Hawkmoth's control.

Hawkmoth smirked in his lair before releasing Mistress Mind. "Good, now don't waste any more time."

"Of course." Mistress Mind set her clipboard by her side. It was time for her to get to work. She cupped her chin, thinking of a way to lure out the superhero duo. She knew that they would've noticed adults acting weird. She figured that they couldn't be older than sixteen so she most likely didn't accidentally affect them. She only changed adults, so the teens were probably still roaming around. Did she get their parents? No, they would've found her by now if that was the truth.

What Mistress Mind didn't know was that her first victim was the father of Paris' heroic black cat, and that hero just got caught up in the attention. If only she knew that her target was under her nose all morning.

Mistress Mind's curious hand gestures caught Chat Noir's attention. He zeroed in on the violet haired villain and her struggle. Mistress Mind endured Hawkmoth's ruthless manipulation with gritted teeth and tight fists. She was like a still beacon in the sea of moving families.

Chat Noir quietly tapped Ladybug's shoulder. Ladybug jolted as she felt his fingers brush against her. Those were Adrien's hands in those clawed gloves. Chat Noir pointed at Mistress Mind. Ladybug shook her head as she focused on the crowded park below. Her sight followed Chat's finger and found Mistress Mind's strange getup. Her bright turtleneck and matching hair streak made her stand out from the crowd dressed for the warm spring afternoon.

Ladybug gave Chat Noir a nod before standing. Her yo-yo spun before she wrapped it around a nearby streetlight. She lowered herself to the sidewalk with Chat Noir not too far behind. The crowd quickly dispersed when they saw the heroes' determined expressions. Surely, they were excited to see the super duo, but they also knew that their presence meant an akuma attack. Parents quickly scooped up their gawking children and ran away as if their lives depended on it. Ladybug and Chat Noir were grateful for this effect of the akuma attack; it surely would make this fight much easier.

Mistress Mind composed herself as the rest of the families dispersed into the surrounding businesses. Children quickly crowded around windows, hoping to catch a glimpse at the unfolding fight.

Ladybug didn't like the fact that they were so close, but there was not much she could do about it. She wrapped her yo-yo around her waist before entering the park. Chat Noir walked beside her, but something gnawed at him. This akuma was familiar. He knew this person. The glasses and that clipboard and that out-of-season fashion. His eyes met Mistress Mind's. Mistress Mind's eyes filled with adoration when she saw Chat Noir. His green eyes, blonde hair, and confident reminded her of Adrien. She knew that she had to get the Miraculouses to help the young boy. Her expression hardened as she squared off with the heroes.

Chat Noir knew that expression, that ill seen smile. He knew that rare grin. It had to be Nathalie. What the literal fuck? How could she have been akumatized? How could Nathalie of all people lose her cool enough to be infected? She was always so level headed and on top of things. That was how Chat Noir saw her. His jaw opened and closed like a gasping fish as he tried to rationalize his conclusion.

A close by window snapped open and a woman shouted into the open air, "Don't look into her eyes!" The woman was soon pounced on by her girlfriend before she could give the duo further warning. Mistress Mind gritted her teeth as Chat Noir's eyes fell to his feet. He wasn't about to cause Ladybug trouble again.

He clenched his fists so hard that they ached. Of all people, Nathalie was someone he didn't want to have to fight. She was up there with Gabriel, Nino, and his mother. "Where do you think the akuma is?" Chat Noir growled under his breath.

Chat's tone took Ladybug off guard. She's never heard him like this, in either of his forms. He was always the definition of positive confidence, not malice. Ladybug almost didn't know how to react, but she did know one thing: she needed to find the akuma. Her eyes darted around Mistress Mind's rather normal outfit for anything out of the ordinary. She avoided Mistress Mind's violet eyes, so her gaze settled on the black pendant around Mistress Mind's neck. Its ornate design shimmered in the sun, casting off silver rays. That had to be it.

Ladybug pointed at the pendant. Chat Noir quietly nodded as he grabbed his staff. He didn't want to fight her; he really didn't. He knew he had to though and that it was for Nathalie's own good. Slowly, Chat Noir approached Mistress Mind, his gaze never leaving the concrete. "Nathalie, I know you're in there."

Mistress Mind smirked. "Nathalie isn't here. It's only Mistress Mind now."

"Right," he huffed, "but not for long."

Mr. Dupain and Mrs. Cheng took care of the shrinking crowd inside their bakery as the breaking news broke through their music stream. An alert of a nearby akuma attack soon filled the quaint space, which made the remaining customers hang tightly onto their children. The attack was occurring in a nearby park, the one near Marinette's school. The Dupain-Chengs let out a sigh of relief that the attack had not occurred an hour earlier. Their sweet Marinette was safely nestled in her room, working on the upcoming spring festival.

Only half an hour had passed since Marinette had 'locked herself' in the room. Mrs. Cheng decided that it was time for the teen to eat something; she gathered a sandwich and some fruit onto a plate before climbing up to her daughter's room. She opened the hatch and was alarmed to find the space completely dark.

"Marinette?" Mrs. Cheng said, but was only met with silence. Panic set into her gut as she laid the food by the entrance and searched the room and terrace. "Tom!" she screamed.

Mr. Dupain dashed up the stairs, leaving a customer to just stare at the register and their half wrapped pastries. Mrs. Cheng paced around their daughter's room and threw an intelligible string of words at her husband. Mr. Dupain managed to gather the situation and held his wife close. Where the hell was his daughter? The akuma attack came to mind and he thought of the worst. She did sometimes go out for walks when she was stressed or needed inspiration. Shit, what if she was out there right now, in the middle of everything that was going on?

He grabbed Mrs. Cheng by the shoulders. "Close down shop, I'll go look for her." Mrs. Cheng nodded and Mr. Dupain was soon out the door, not even bothering to take off his flour coated apron.

Mr. Dupain bursted through the bakery's back door and dashed toward the park where a few journalists were already awaiting the battle's end. Those vultures truly couldn't resist a fresh scoop. Mr. Dupain ran around to the park's far side and slipped through the gate. Ladybug and Chat Noir were squaring off with Mistress Mind, but there was no Marinette. He sighed with relief.

Mr. Dupain was the only relieved one though. Ladybug heard his huffing and was shocked to see him. Her father was there. He was supposed to be in the bakery, not the near the akuma. Mistress Mind followed Ladybug's line of sight with a smirk.

She had found her next target.

Mistress Mind was quick to pick up her clipboard. Mr. Dupain glared at the supervillain; it was always these stupid akuma that ruined peaceful afternoons. After a year of Hawkmoth's ploys, he was sick of the near constant alerts and concern over his only daughter. Mr. Dupain locked eyes with Mistress Mind, ignorant of her power. Ladybug was ready to pounce Mistress Mind when Chat's staff extended and knocked the dark pendant off of Mistress Mind. The force knocked her to the ground, but she was soon back on her feet. Her fall had cracked her glasses in half, so she tossed the article to the side before facing Mr. Dupain again.

Ladybug dashed across the park to the discarded pendant as Mistress Mind brought up Mr. Dupain's list. The akuma victim quickly made her orders the baker's top priority while Ladybug stomped onto the pendant. She prepared her yo-yo for akuma capture, but the violet butterfly never came. Mistress Mind smirked as violet rings formed around Mr. Dupain's irises.

Chat and Ladybug exchanged shocked looks as Mistress Mind turned to the heroes.

"Tom Dupain," she said with ease, "capture the children, please."

Mr. Dupain smiled while stretching his hefty arms. "Of course, Mademoiselle." The baker cracked his knuckles while Ladybug slowly backed up. That was her papa, her personal hero. How the hell was she going to fight him? It wasn't like beating him in video games; he was going to actually get hurt in this fight. Chat Noir noticed Ladybug's behavior. Confused, he glared at Mr. Dupain. He didn't want to fight Marinette's dad; he was so nice to him whenever he came over. But he also knew he had to. He would apologize to Marinette any way he could when this was all over.

He adjusted his staff and charged the man. Chat Noir just needed to knock the man out. That's all he needed to do. Ladybug froze as the scene unfolded in slow motion. He father stepped into a fighting position as Chat leapt into the air. Mistress Mind watched on. Ladybug could only stare. Metal hit bone as the hero and the baker collided. Mr. Dupain threw off Chat like a rag doll. Chat gritted his teeth. Curse bakers and their strong arms. He knew they were all like that. Marinette was strong too, especially for a small girl. Chat shook away the thought. He couldn't be thinking about her, not while he was fighting her dad.

The ensuing fight brought Ladybug out of her horror. This wasn't time for her space out. Chat could keep her dad busy for a while. If she worked fast enough, then her dad most likely wouldn't have to get hurt. She held onto that hope as she cast her yo-yo into the air for lucky charm. A sticky hand emerged from the cloud of scurrying ladybugs. Ladybug experienced her usual 'what the fuck' moment as she scanned the situation for a solution. This was definitely one of her weirder tools. She noticed Mistress Mind's clipboard and how the villain kept it at her side. Was that the akuma? Ladybug was wrong once, but a second guess couldn't hurt, right? Chat and Mr. Dupain were readying for round two; Ladybug had no time to come up with another idea.

Ladybug threw the sticky hand and stuck the landing. The well made toy relentlessly gripped the metal clipboard. Mistress Mind grunted as she fought against Ladybug for the clipboard. The struggle told Ladybug that her guess was right; a surge of confidence ran through her, making her pull the toy with newfound determination.

Ladybug pulled until she was nearly toe to toe with Mistress Mind. The akuma victim bared her teeth as the clipboard came within Ladybug's arm length.

"Mr. Dupain," she shouted with wide eyes, "assist me!"

Mr. Dupain nodded before dodging Chat's incoming attack. The baker came behind Mistress Mind and pulled on the clipboard. Some paternal instinct must have leaked through the akuma's control since he didn't dare grab his daughter. Mistress Mind's arms stretched out as Ladybug and the akuma duo entered a precarious tug of war.

Chat Noir saw his chance and extended his staff, effectively snapping the clipboard in two. Mistress Mind fell in defeat as the akuma fluttered into the air.


	8. Reality Check

[A/N: Hey, I'm back... hope you all enjoy ^_^;]

Mr. Dupain and Nathalie fell to their knees as Ladybug captured the akuma. All she wanted to do was to check up on her papa, but that might give her away and her miraculous were already blinking. She only had five minutes to get away. She spared a glance to her father. Relief washed over her when she saw the man stand with a confused look on his features. He was going to have a story to tell that night.

With a relieved smile, Ladybug walked over to Chat Noir.

"Pound it!" she said with her signature, triumphant smile.

Chat Noir was looking down, ears drooped and hands limp by his sides. It was all over. The akuma was caught and the adults were going to return to normal… even Gabriel Agreste. Chat knew that he shouldn't be upset. He knew the endearing glances and awkward hangouts would end soon enough.

"Chaton?" Ladybug said with her smile long gone. She lowered her fist a bit as she approached her partner. He looked down, but she couldn't figure out why. They had defeated the akuma and saved Nathalie. He should be happy, right?

Chat Noir looked up. He pasted on a smile, but it was a far cry from his usual confident grin. Ladybug would've sincerely been fine with one of his lame puns. She didn't like his silence nor the brooding look in his unnaturally green eyes. Chat gave Ladybug's hand a light bump. "Good job," he murmured before using his staff to escape the scene.

Ladybug's concern only grew as she helped Nathalie to her feet. The secretary gave Ladybug a confused look.

"Ladybug?" Nathalie said confused as she looked around her surroundings before resting her blue eyes on the heroine.

"Don't worry, Miss," Ladybug said with a dampened smile. "Everything is fine."

Nathalie's lips straightened into a line as she realized what must have happened. "Thank you, Ladybug," she said as she gathered her fixed clipboard from the concrete. With a slight bow, she calmly left the park. As soon as she was out of sight, Nathalie dashed through the Parisian streets towards the Agreste manor. She had no clue what had happened, but she needed to check on Adrien.

After Nathalie left, Ladybug helped Mr. Dupain from the ground. The baker looked on with wonder as the heroine gave him a reassuring smile before zipping off into the cityscape. He watched until the polka dotted Ladybug disappeared behind terraces and old architecture. He couldn't help but dash back to the bakery where a very worried Mrs. Cheng was pacing around the living room. Mr. Dupain came to his wife's side and told her about the battle's end. Mrs. Cheng sighed with relief, but worry still furrowed her brow. Where the hell was her daughter?

* * *

Ladybug knew that she should rush back home and zip into her room before her parents could possibly notice. Her father probably went straight to her room when he got home. Dread filled her gut as she thought of the worry her parents must have gone through when they found her empty room. She was going to get scolded; she just knew it, but it was better than them figuring out who she really was.

She knew that she should head straight home, but Chat's expressions worried her to no end. It was times like these that she wished that they had some way to communicate with each other outside of costume. Ladybug hoped that Chat hadn't reached home when she pulled out her compact.

* * *

Worn brick stretched against Chat's but as he slid down the alley's dirty wall. He was heading home, but he didn't want to deal with his father's cold attitude again. He knew it was selfish, but he just wanted to see his father's warm smile again. Seeing it only in old family photos wasn't enough after seeing in real life. Somehow he just wanted to turn back the clock and take back his happy father who actually talked to him about things other than expectations and bad influences.

He put his head between his knees as the tears welled beneath his mask. Fuck, now he was crying? Chat almost scoffed at himself, but a sob escaped instead. He barely heard his staff ring past his boiling emotions. He pulled out his staff to find the paw print emblem blinking. Ladybug was calling. Chat was sincerely surprised. Wasn't she running out of time?

He coughed and slapped his cheeks. He couldn't let his lady see him cry, right? He wiped the tears away with the back of his glove. He was glad that the mask distorted the color of his eyes. It would be pretty hard for Ladybug to see the puffiness.

He clicked open his rod to access the video camera. "Well hello there, Bugaboo. Missing me already?" Chat said with the most energy he could possibly muster. It still wasn't enough to achieve his full Chat confidence, but he hoped it was enough to quell Ladybug's worries.

Ladybug's earrings beeped as Chat answered her call; she was going to have to make this quick. When he answered, she was sort of glad that he had flirted with her. It was just as lame as usual, but at least there was a little bit of Chat peeking through whatever cloud was looming over his head. "Hey Chaton," Ladybug said, "you sure you're okay?"

Chat couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, I am fine. No need to worry, my lady."

Ladybug pursed her lips. She gave the black cat a harsh look. "Chat," she said sternly, "you can talk to me about anything, you know that right?" Just not their real identities. Her miraculous beeped again. She had four minutes. Not wanting to disturb the call, she climbed down a nearby fire escape into an alleyway where she could retransform in peace.

Chat nodded along. "Yeah." He sighed.

"Want to patrol tonight?"

Chat's head whipped up. His lady was offering to actually see him. With the akuma defeated, there was no need for patrol that night. "Yes I would very much like that," he said just as Ladybug's miraculous beeped a third time. "You should go," Chat said as he prepared to closed his staff.

"Yeah, I'll see you around ten, then," Ladybug said as she closed her compact and transformed back into her civilian form.

Tikki zipped into Marinette's purse as Marinette hurried home with a head full of worries. She snuck into the back door, taking her parents out of their worried thoughts. Mrs. Cheng scooped Marinette into her arms as soon as the teen locked the door behind her.

Marinette could barely breathe within her mother's hug and really couldn't get a word in once her dad joined in on the affection.

* * *

A new wave of grief washed over Chat Noir as the Agreste Manor came into view. He swung into his bathroom and transformed back into regular Adrien Agreste with his distant father and hectic lifestyle and contracting manners. Adrien sighed as Plagg flew into the store of cheese in Adrien's bed side table. It was only three o'clock, but Adrien couldn't wait for the clock to ring ten. He would see Ladybug twice in a day; he would call that a great record. He collapsed onto his bed just as Nathalie threw open the door breathily heavily. Her usually perfect hair flew into her face as she tried to compose herself.

Adrien played dumb as he sat up. "Nathalie?" he said with concern tinging his words.

"Oh Adrien," she said with a composed tone that was comical when paired with her disheveled dress shirt and crooked glasses. She straightened her glasses and posture. "I - I was merely checking on you. You can go back to what you were doing." With that, Nathalie closed the door and headed for her desk where she put her head down for the rest of the afternoon.

Adrien restlessly wandered around his room for the coming hours. He jumped from activity to activity without much conviction to any one task.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Agreste attempted to get his bearings while pacing along his large study. He felt himself come out of the akuma's spell not soon before. He remembered the sensation from his time with Simon Says, but he could never say that he got used to it. He looked around his office for any sign of his time under the akuma's spell. An array of Adrien's childhood photos covered his desk. The smiling faces of his wife and son brought a tear to his eyes as he thought about the lack of smiles coming from his family lately. He leaned over his desk and scooped the photos back into their drawer. He sighed as he thought about Adrien's absent laugh. Gabriel sighed. He knew that his behavior lately wasn't exactly fatherly, but he had no choice with everything that was going on. His wife was missing, and he was struggling to just hold down the fort.

Gabriel wandered down the hall and stopped before Adrien's door. He really wanted to talk to him. He wanted to ask about the day and about his life, but he couldn't. He even lifted his hand to knock, but couldn't bring himself to actually enter the room. He sighed as he went back down the hall.

Nathalie typed away at the computer as Gabriel went up and down the hall to approach the door only to walk away only moments later. Nathalie almost felt hopeful every time Gabriel approached Adrien's room, but she knew that the hope was misplaced. She didn't remember what happened during her akumatization, but she felt that something happened with Gabriel. Sure, he was the reason for her anguish, but she was just glad that she somehow helped the man even try to talk to his son.

* * *

After Marinette's parents gave her a light scolding, the young girl climbed into her room. Marinette just told her parents that she went for a walk and that the akuma fight blocked her path back home. She hated lying to her parents, but she couldn't do anything about it.

She smiled as she thought back to her parents concern, but she really wished that they would stay away from the akuma. Her father could've gotten hurt; she was just glad that she was already there to purify the akuma. Marinette didn't know what she would do if her papa got hurt.

Her parents closed up shop early as Marinette got through her homework in time for dinner. Mr. Dupain boasted about his afternoon with Ladybug. He failed to mention his falling under the akuma spell, which made Marinette giggle. Of course, he would keep out the embarrassing bits. The Dupain-Chengs engaged in mild conversation before cleaning the kitchen and engaging in a dynamic video game tournament. Even Mrs. Cheng jumped in on the fun, narrowly beating her husband while Marinette always managed to come out on top.

After round ten, Marinette retreated into her room to once again do homework. Except she was actually doing that until nine-thirty rolled around. Tikki zipped out and landed on top of Marinette's textbooks.

"Aren't you going to head out soon?" Tikki said as she took her seat. Marinette finished her math assignment before turning towards the kwami.

"Yeah," Marinette said with a sigh as she packed her backpack.

"What's wrong, Marinette? Are you that worried over Chat Noir?"

"Oh, I don't know, Tikki. I am I guess," she said, "He's never acted this way before and he's my partner so I guess I am a little bit worried." Marinette shuffled things around in her backpack to make room for her tablet when she came upon some festival papers. That morning's events flashed through her mind as the brightly colored paper fluttered to the floor. She stood, ramming her shin against her desk.

Tikki zipped from her seat to float in front of Marinette's eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Shit, how could I forget!"

"Forget what?"

"Chat Noir is Adrien!"

Tikki stopped for a moment as she floated down to the desk. In all the excitement, both of them had forgotten about that little detail. Marinette's mind raced with the new implications of Chat Noir's somber mood. Something was wrong with Adrien, her friend and crush.

Tikki floated over to Marinette's calves as the teen put her head in her hands. The kwami patted Marinette's arm. Countless thoughts flooded Marinette's head as placed Tikki on her shoulder before climbing up to her balcony.

"Come on, Tikki," Marinette murmured, "Spots on."

Soon after transforming, Ladybug pulled out her yo yo and leapt into the night. Worst case scenarios flooded her thoughts as she headed to their usual meeting spot. Chat Noir was Adrien and Adrien was Chat Noir. Something was wrong with Chat Noir thus there was something going on with Adrien. That logic kept racing through her mind as she swung from building to building.

* * *

A rock dropped into Adrien's gut as his computer's clock read 9:30. It was only half an hour until he was supposed to meet with Ladybug. His heart raced as he thought about the unusual rendezvous. He looked forward to meeting Ladybug, but he knew that she would most likely try to comfort him. Adrien wasn't sure that even Ladybug would be able to make him forget his father's coldness. Had he really been so spoiled in just one day?

Plagg emerged from Adrien's cheese store with a sleepy expression. "What's with the long face?" he said, "Aren't you excited to see your one and only love?"

Adrien scratched the back of his neck. "I am but…"

"Don't worry, it's not like she's going to figure out your issues with father dearest."

"Plagg! I really am not in the mood for your stupid jokes."

Plagg backed off and flew over to the coffee table in front of the couch that Adrien was sitting on. "Ok, ok, I get it. Try and have some cheese. It'll cheer you up."

Adrien sighed. "No, thanks, Plagg," he said with a small grin. Adrien stood and opened one of the window panels. The kwami was right. Adrien should cheer up. It wasn't like things were going to actually change in one afternoon. "Come on, claws out."

Plagg groaned as he was sucked into Adrien's ring. Adrien gained a wave of confidence as he leapt out the window as Chat Noir. He was soon enough at the meeting place to await his lady. He was always at least ten minutes early and living near their rendezvous point only made that all the easier.

Chat Noir laid down on the flat roof top to survey the starless sky. He thought about everything and nothing at all as crisp spring breeze passed over him. His stomach somersaulted as the minutes passed by.

Ladybug landed atop the roof soon enough with her brain still trying to process 1001 scenarios at once. She secured her yo yo around her hip and walked over to Chat Noir with as much confidence as she could muster. She leaned over her partner with a small smile. "Well hello there, kitty," she said.

Chat Noir returned the smile as Ladybug took a seat beside him with her legs crossed. "Well aren't you being forward today. Are you possibly falling for me, Bugaboo?" Chat said as his eyes returned to the sky. He didn't want to meet her eyes.

Ladybug's heart stopped for a second. That was Adrien's voice asking her that. She couldn't just outright say that she'd been crushing on him for months. She had been. Sort of.

"Y-yeah right kitty," she said, keeping her gaze over the Parisian cityscape. She couldn't look him in the eyes. "Last time I checked, I don't take in strays." He wasn't though. It almost hurt her to say that, but she couldn't let him figure out anything. She threw in a chuckle at the end of her joke. Chat smile grew a bit. He was glad to know at least one person would stay the same.

"Aww, now don't say that, my lady. We strays can be quite charming."

Ladybug was glad that her mask covered her cheeks. Damn, he really was. "Sure, whatever you say, shall we go?"

Chat got to his feet and stretched his back. "Why of course. Anything for you, bugaboo." Ladybug almost wished for Chat Noir to stop flirting with her with Adrien's voice. It was Adrien flirting with her, and she had been pushing him away for so long. "Where to?"

Ladybug bit her lip. "Let's head for the Tower," she said without facing him, "we can see the whole city from there."

Chat's brows furrowed as Ladybug took out her yo yo. Something was up. He could feel it next to the rock in his gut. Thoughts of his father wandered to the back of his mind while Chat theorized what could be troubling Ladybug. Had he said something? Was his somber mood that evident? He silently cursed himself. He really hoped he wasn't the reason for Ladybug's strange look in her eye. He couldn't tell if his partner wanted to run away or not and that tore him apart.

Ladybug led the way to the tower. Chat quickly caught up to his partner, determined not to let his thoughts get the best of him.

The super duo landed lightly on the Eiffel Tower's metal supports. Ladybug sat on the edge with her legs swinging in the air as she surveyed the sea of city lights and took in the sounds of car horns and rowdy night owls. A lump jumped into her throat as Chat Noir took a seat next to her.

"So what is this all about?" Chat said just loud enough to be heard over the wind passing the historic tower.

"W - What do you mean?"

"The sudden patrol. Believe me," he while facing her, "I am not minding the extra alone time, but I have to admit that it's a bit out of character."

Ladybug sighed. Chat was sharp as ever. How did she even think that she could put something past him? He was a star pupil after all. "Oh right, I guess I wanted to chat with the cat." Ladybug glanced over him with a small smile after her pathetic attempt at a pun. Jokes really were his department; she was better at the comebacks.

Chat couldn't help but smile. He scooted a little closer to his love bug with his clawed gloves nearly brushing her hand. "Okay, now I know something is up. Come on Bugaboo, what's up?" Chat kept his voice light and full of fun, but his heart hammered in his chest. Ladybug stayed quiet, and Chat's heart just about stopped. She didn't know how to ask questions. He didn't know why she looked like she had the entire world on her slight shoulders. His brows knitted together. "Hey Ladybug, what's wrong? Did I do something? If I did, you could tell me, I promise whatever you say won't—" He was cut off by Ladybug putting her finger to her lips.

She tried to formulate words in her head. She finally faced him with a determined gleam in her bright blue eyes. "You didn't do anything," she said, "I was … just worried." She turned back the city soon after the words left her lips. She was so glad she had the mask.

"Worried?" She nodded. "About me?" Chat said with increasing urgency. Ladybug nodded again as her hands clenched against the cool metal. Chat's jaw nearly dropped. He scooted a little closer to Ladybug and slung his arm around her shoulders. He nuzzled his head in the crook of her neck; Chat had to admit that he was being way too forward that night. "Sorry," he said as tears welled behind his mask, "Can we just sit here for a bit?"

Ladybug's internally screamed as she felt Chat's breath against her shoulder. Her nervousness soon disappeared as she heard Chat's minute sobs. "Of course, kitty," she murmured as she rubbed circles into the back of his shoulder. The fact that it was Adrien crying on her shoulder no longer mattered to Ladybug; she just wanted to help her friend.


	9. Confusion and Comfort

[A/N: Soooo, exams are kicking my ass. I will try to post in the next two weeks, but I just want to warn against any possible future delays ^^. Keep being miraculous and have a great day.]

Ladybug felt Chat Noir's sobbing breaths against her neck as the tears flowed over his mask and down his cheeks. A few drops fell onto her shoulder, but she didn't care. Ladybug only positioned herself so that Chat could lean into her more comfortably. Her arm wrapped around his side while her free hand grasped one of his gloved hands. Chat didn't know why Ladybug was being so nice to him, but his running emotions kept him from thinking about Ladybug's thoughts.

Chat responded to every one of Ladybug's movement with a skip of his heart or a tightening of his hand. His fingers quickly fell into her palm and closed over Ladybug's dainty digits. Chat thought of everything and nothing as the tears fell. He thought about how his father's coldness hit harder everyday, especially after that afternoon's time in the studio. Seeing his father smile for only an afternoon hit the poor boy like a train. He felt the full extent of his loneliness in one giant wave as memories of his father's past smiles and missing mother's warm laughter flashed before him. He almost felt bad as he clenched Ladybug's hand and nuzzled deeper into her neck. Time seemed to stop as the super duo sat atop the metal support, lost in each other's company and toiling emotions.

Ladybug was glad that the Eiffel Tower had such bright lights attached at night. She was sure that no one on the ground would be able to discern the two figures as the Parisian superheroes; if someone did and submitted a photo to the Ladyblog, she would just deal with it then. Chat was too important right then. She put forth her best effort all the way to the Chat's final tears.

Chat gave Ladybug's hand one final tug before sitting up and wiping his cheeks. He couldn't believe that he had just fallen apart in front of his lady of all people.

Ladybug faced her partner with her hand still lying open between them. "Are you okay, kitty?"

Chat wiped away some of the dried tears. "Yeah," he said quietly, "Sorry about all of this." He leaned over his knees, looking down the length of the historic tower.

Ladybug's gut twisted as a soft silence fell over them. She watched his furrowed brows and downcast eyes. She couldn't help but see Adrien's face behind the black mask. "Don't be sorry," she said while turning towards her partner, "I'm more than glad to be here for you." Ladybug didn't know if it was the mask or not, but she felt boldness build in her gut. She grabbed Chat's closest hand and brought it close to her face. "Look Chat, I'm always here to talk. Don't go thinking that you have to keep quiet for my sake," Ladybug said as she leaned in towards the bewildered Chat.

The black clad superheroes eyes grew to saucers as he faced his partner. Her claws nearly brushed her cheek as she leaned in closer. Fresh tears nearly brimmed as he felt the full weight of Ladybug's words. She cared for him. She really cared for him. No motives or coldness or business. He sensed the genuine concern in her blue eyes. Chat bit his bottom lip. He knew something was up. Ladybug was always adamant about not talking about their civilian selves. It was too much of a safety concern. So why? Why was she suddenly concerned about the boy behind the mask? He searched her blue eyes for some kind of answer, like looking for a lighthouse in an expansive sea, but he found nothing in her expression. He only read concern and determination. His shoulders sagged a bit as he pulled Ladybug into a hug. It wasn't constricting or particularly intimate, it was just nice. "Thanks," he managed as he his mouth moved against her pigtail. Ladybug squeaked as Chat pulled her into the embrace.

After a moment, she wrapped her free hand around Chat's back. "No problem, Chat."

Neither of them moved as another spring gust passed by. The duo relished in each other's heat as the cooling night air nipped at their exposed faces. Both of their hearts raced as eternal seconds passed by. Neither wanted to even breathe in fear of breaking the perfect moment.

Ladybug knew she couldn't just sit there. For one, her heart was ready to explode at any second, but secondly she knew that hugging wasn't going to fix anything. She didn't loosen her grip as she turned her face away from his shoulder. "Chat, want to talk right now?"

Chat sighed. She was really wasn't letting up at all. He took in a deep breath. Chat opened his mouth then bit down onto his lip before sitting again and holding Ladybug gently by the shoulders. He took one last look into her big blue eyes before his hands tensed up. "It's my father," Chat said cautiously, "he was caught up in today's attack. You could say that it hit pretty hard." He finished with a strained chuckle. He was just trying to lighten the mood, but not even his alter ego's confidence could overcome the young boy's loneliness. Ladybug nodded along. She didn't know that Gabriel Agreste was involved in the attack, but she could only imagine the emotional whiplash that Chat must have gone through. She nodded her head, and Chat continued. "Y-you see, my mom has been missing for a year now," he said with building emotion, "My dad turned cold after she disappeared and then he was suddenly happy and warm again. But now he's back to the way he was. Hell, he hasn't even come to see me since I returned home. He probably doesn't even know I'm gone."

Dots connected in Ladybug's mind as Chat spoke with downturned eyes. She knew that Gabriel Agreste wasn't exactly the most fatherly and that Adrien spent much of his time alone. She knew that he had disappeared after lunch; she could only guess that Gabriel had taken him for some father-son time because of the akuma. Her stomach sunk as Chat choked at his mother's disappearance. Ladybug gently grasped his hands as he explained her disappearance and his father's change. She realized that she had never seen Mrs. Agreste except from Adrien's desktop and the sizable family portrait in the Agreste manor. It had never occurred to her that she was missing, and finding out the fact only grew a lump in her throat. She couldn't even imagine what Chat's home life must've really been liked.

Chat's hand clenched beneath Ladybug's as a few fresh tears ran down his face. Ladybug bit her lip, unsure what to say or even do. She couldn't even imagine what kind of anguish her partner had gone through in the past few months. He had lost both his parents in one fell swoop. He was fortunate in the material realm, but unfortunate everywhere else.

Ladybug tightened her hold on his hand as she leaned in towards his shoulder. Her voice barely carried over the sound of the wind. "I'm so sorry, Chat."

"Don't be."

* * *

No more words were exchanged between the superheroes as Parisian nightlife came into full swing. The duo watched tourists and night owls alike flit around the streets in cars and bikes in a confusing array of bright lights and sound. Their hands never left one another as the quiet moments passed by.

Chat was the first to stand up as the first of the nightly police sirens rang out. The heroes were sure it wasn't an akuma or anything overly important. It was usually about this time they called it quits. They weren't needed and Chat never liked Ladybug going home alone any later than that. Ladybug stood soon after Chat left his seat. They stood at the support beam's edge for a moment, just taking in the city.

"Will you be okay?" Ladybug said.

"Yeah, thank you for today," he said with a small smile. He didn't know what he did to deserve such a friend.

She glanced at her puffy-eyed partner. She was still worried, but she couldn't do anything more from behind the mask. "No problem. I'll always be here for you." Ladybug gave Chat one last hug before leaping off the tower into the city.

Chat watched her form disappear into the sea of lights. His heart raced as recent memories flashed before his eyes. Melancholy and elation fought against each other in a vicious mental war as he ventured back to his room. He quickly found himself back in his bedroom, just as confused as he was at the tower. He felt so much better after talking with Ladybug, but he couldn't figure out anything. Why did Ladybug suddenly talk to him like that? Sure, they weren't strangers to each other, but they weren't the closest of friends either. He had bugged her for months to open up, but she always refused. But now? Now she was worming her way deeper into his heart through his deepest, darkest secrets. Why now was she talking like that?

He sighed as he plopped onto his bed and transformed back into Adrien. His thoughts still raced as Plagg helped himself to some of Adrien's secret stash.

"You were having quite the moment there," Plagg said between mouthfuls of cheese.

"Not now, Plagg," Adrien said with an arm covering his eyes. He could still feel the dried tears on his cheeks.

"Oh? But is it not true?" Plagg said, taking a seat on Adrien's other pillow, "Ladybug had a heart-to-heart with you. Aren't you happy?"

Adrien uncovered his face and sighed. "I am, but … oh, I don't know."

Plagg rolled his eyes before devouring his last bite. His chosen really was hopeless sometimes. He floated down to Adrien's side and curled next to the young boy's cheek. Adrien glanced down to the kwami with a slight smile while Plagg purred against his skin.

* * *

Ladybug bound onto the Dupain-Cheng bakery's rooftop terrace and climbed into her bedroom to transform into a flustered Marinette. Tikki quickly zipped to Marinette's desk where her nightly snack resided. Marinette collapsed into her desk chair as Tikki snacked on her cookies. A bright pink covered Marinette's cheeks as she tried to sort out the day's events. It was all almost too much. Chat Noir cried the same day that she found out that he was her beloved classmate? What were the chances?

Marinette changed for bed and collapsed into a confused mess. Dreams didn't come as she thought about her packed day. The day almost felt like a dream within itself, so much so that she felt like she could wake up at any moment to find that Chat and Adrien were two completely different blonde, green-eyed boys.


	10. Smiles and Conversation

**[A/N: I am so sorry for disappearing this past couple of weeks, but hey I'm back! Well, actually, I'll be MIA next week due to real life ^^;. After that I should be back to normal schedule. ]**

Marinette's heart thumped the entire morning as she got ready for school. She realized that this was going to be the first time she was going to see Adrien as — well, _Adrien_ — since finding out his secret. Memories of the previous night's touching moment flashed before her as she slipped on her flats. She had no idea as to how she was going to approach him. She was already awkward enough around him. Why did this all have to happen just when she was feeling comfortable around his civilian self? Marinette was convinced that none of her luck based powers ever made it into her civilian life.

Her parents threw goodbyes over their shoulders as Marinette left her home. She managed a distracted farewell before entering the bustling morning Parisian traffic. She thought of her parents. She couldn't imagine life without her mom or dad. They were her rocks. How did Adrien even manage his hectic life all on his own? He did so much just for some approval from a lonely man. It sickened her how the perfectly happy Adrien was really so broken on the inside.

"Well aren't you lost in thought today?" Alya said, breaking Marinette free from her whirlwind of heavy thoughts. She pasted on a weak smile as Alya threw an arm around Marinette's shoulders.

"I guess I was just thinking … about the festival," Marinette said as the duo approached the school's front steps. Marinette didn't face Alya and her prying gaze. The brunette could get anything out of Marinette.

Alya smirked as they walked into the central courtyard and sat on one of the many benches that surrounded the space. Lively posters advertising the upcoming festival were pasted across the walls. It made Marinette happy to see that all her class' work was soon going to come to fruition. It wasn't going to be much longer.

"Right," Alya said while slinging an arm around Marinette's shoulders, "Or were you thinking about a certain partner?" Memories of the Chat's cry from last night flashed once again. She really couldn't those green eyes out of her head. Alya's smirk turned into a mischievous grin. "Oh? Still having butterflies? Don't worry girl, you've been doing fine. He doesn't seem to be minding the together time."

Marinette internally groaned. If only Alya knew just how much 'together time' they were actually having. Alya tightened her grip and rocked her friend. Marinette managed a grin as she played along with her friend's antic. Marinette even giggled along as Alya continued to fool around. The two settled down as fellow students trickled into the courtyard. Alya proceeded to bring out her tablet to show Marinette the latest additions to the Ladyblog. Marinette was relieved to not see any articles or pictures of Ladybug and Chat Noir atop the Eiffel Tower. That really was the last thing she needed.

Sunlight drifted through Adrien's sizable windows as birds sang their morning song. Plagg stretched across Adrien's face as the light roused him. Plagg rolled off Adrien's face as the teen rolled over and picked up his phone. He rubbed his puffy eyes as he checked his phone. He had five minutes before his alarm went off. He rolled onto his back and thought about the night before.

Ladybug asked him out. Not on a date, but it might as well have been. She talked to him seriously. There were no gimmicks or akuma, not even one 'lame' pun. They just talked. Well at least she did. He just fell apart. Red flashed across his cheeks as he covered his face with a pillow. How the hell could he let himself be like that (especially in front of Ladybug)?

Plagg floated by, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Well good morning to you too," Plagg said. He yawned as he sat near Adrien's head, making sure not to sit anywhere near his pillows.

"Oh Plagg," Adrien groaned, "What have I done?"

"Cried on the love of your life in front of the entirety of Paris." Adrien moved the pillow just enough to for him to glare at his kwami. Plagg shrugged before floating into the air and landing on the bedside table.

Adrien groaned into his pillow as Plagg pulled open the hidden cheese drawer. He helped himself to his usual breakfast wedge as Adrien's phone alarm went off. Adrien got out of bed and got ready for school. He knew that he should be happy to see his friends and return to some semblance of normal life, but events of the day before still occupied the back of his mind.

Nathalie knocked three times as the time to leave neared. Adrien was just putting on his shirt when the secretary peeked her head into his bedroom. Adrien pasted on a smile as Nathalie recited his schedule for the day and told him about his overly balanced breakfast. Adrien gave her a nod before she left. He sighed while packing his bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He opened his over-shirt to have Plagg to zip in, but the kwami stalled.

"Aren't you going to head in?" Adrien said while staring at the kwami who was still sitting atop the bed side table. Plagg didn't even have any cheese in his minuscule paws; he just stared at Adrien with his big, green eyes.

"Are you okay?" Plagg said.

Adrien froze for a moment. Since when was Plagg so concerned? Adrien sighed again, and a genuine, but small, smile spread on his face. "Yeah, just a bit tired. Come on, let's go. I need to go to class."

Plagg zipped into Adrien's shirt without another word. Adrien headed to the dining room where a healthy breakfast rested atop several pristine dishes. The delectable food filled the air with a delicious aroma. Adrien quickly sat down to his meal as Nathalie came in again. She had her usual blank expression as she waited for Adrien to finish his food. He really wished that she would just join him one day. He was getting really sick of the eating alone every day deal. But he knew that that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

Adrien finished his nutritious breakfast and wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin before stacking the tableware near the edge of the table. He grabbed his bag again before quietly following Nathalie into the garage where the Gorilla was already inside the family car.

Adrien watched Nathalie as the Gorilla left the garage. He felt bad. Adrien didn't know what the reason behind her akumatization was, but he couldn't help but feel that it was somehow his fault. Nathalie was at the Agreste Mansion more often than not, and she was affected early on in the day. This led the teenager to believe that something must have happened that morning to cause her despair. He could have prevented it if he had known any better. He could have done something. Anything. But he didn't. Something happened and he was powerless. His eyes stayed trained on Nathalie until the secretary closed the garage door.

Adrien faced forward as the Gorilla strolled up the school. Nino was waiting by the main entrance, as per usual, as Adrien exited the car. The Gorilla left, leaving Adrien free to greet his friend.

Nino stood from the step he was sitting on to fist bump Adrien. Adrien returned the greeting with a small smile. It wasn't as wide or energetic as usual, but it was going to have to do. Nino picked up on Adrien's energy level, but said nothing about it as they walked into the courtyard together. Instead Nino talked about the upcoming festival. Nino talked about the epic playlist he was making as they entered the courtyard. Adrien looked over the array of posters with a slight smile. It was nice to see advertising without his face or name on it.

Marinette spotted Adrien as soon as he walked into the courtyard. Not even Alya's antics could distract her from her newly racing heart. He looked sad. She was relieved to see him smiling, but she sensed that something was off. She had been around him way too much to not notice it. He was acting somewhat normal, but she knew that things were anything but that. Should she talk to him? Maybe. Her face grew redder. Maybe she couldn't though.

"Hey," Alya said straight into Marinette's ear, "Earth to Marinette. Where are you?"

Marinette practically jumped in her seat as Alya pulled her out of her thoughts. Marinette's bag tipped over, spilling her tablet and school books onto the pavement. Luckily Tikki was safely tucked inside a pocket when Marinette's foot knocked over the bag.

Adrien bent down as Marinette scrambled to the ground. Marinette couldn't help but notice the residual red puffiness around Adrien's green eyes. That's right, he was crying. Marinette pushed away the thought as the two of them gathered everything back into her bag.

"Thanks, Adrien," Marinette said without quite meeting his eyes. It was Chat Noir she was talking to. Was that why she wasn't stuttering like a complete idiot?

Adrien smiled. "No problem."

The bell rang and the four teens quickly went up the steps to Mme. Bustier's class. The students were abuzz after the teacher sent them off to work in their groups. Most of the preliminary work was already done, and now the students were truly buckling down. The advertisers worked on day-of posters and strategies while costume and set designs were finalized by the creative team. Everyone (except for Chloe and Sabrina who huffed in the corner) buzzed around like busy bees.

Marinette and Adrien barely had any free time with the stream of classmates asking for clearance and advice on this and that. Marinette and Adrien managed to work together seamlessly to create the 'home for heroes' cafe. It was certainly a one-of-a-kind idea and they were loving it. They could see their alter egos relaxing in front of the various set pieces that were being designed.

Throughout the period, Marinette watched Adrien. He seemed fine, normal even. He smiled. He talked. He was kind and polite. He was just being him. If it wasn't for the night before and the fading redness around his eyes, Marinette might've not suspected anything was wrong at all.

The second bell rang, signaling the students to put away their supplies and prepare for their first class of the day, French Literature. Mme. Bustier straightened some papers atop her desk before calling over Marinette and Adrien.

She tapped the papers again before handing the stack to Marinette. "Hey, could you two run this over to the office?" Mme. Bustier said with a polite smile.

Marinette glanced over at Adrien as he accepted the papers with a smile. Her heart jumped a bit when he nodded to Mme. Bustier then to her Marinette. He wanted her to go with him. She was going to be alone with him.

Marinette nodded to Mme. Bustier before following Adrien into the hall. Redness still bordered Adrien's bright green eyes. Marinette's heart pounded as they went down the stairs to the main office. It was going to be a five minute walk tops.

Marinette bit her lip. He was quiet, even for reserved Adrien Agreste. She knew that the boy had a mouth on him and that he could talk for days, but he was just walking.

Marinette didn't like the silence. She didn't like only hearing their footsteps and her racing thoughts. She wanted something, anything to distract her from the monotonous tone of their steps against the concrete.

Adrien wasn't thinking of much as he walked alongside Marinette. A pit weighed down his gut, making his every move feel like a huge effort. He swore that he was lugging around boulders instead of a book bag and papers. He didn't even know why he felt so tired. He thought maybe it was just the late night crying session that sucked the energy right out of him. A light blush crept onto his cheeks as he thought back to the scene on the tower. His usual smile was drooped as he continued to think about the previous 24 hours.

They were nearly at Damocles' office.

Marinette spotted a poster next to the principal's office's door depicting a pair of smiling cartoon flowers. It was just another advertisement for the upcoming festival.

Marinette had it. She swallowed the lump stuck in her throat before facing Adrien. "Oh hey, um Adrien, have you thought about what costume you're going to wear?"

Adrien shook himself out of his daze as Marinette's question cut through. He almost jumped when he heard his voice. She sounded actually confident around him that time. She didn't stutter or scramble or turn away. She didn't even rub her neck like she always did when she was embarrassed. "Oh, um," he said, finally looking up from the stack of papers in his hand, "I don't know. I guess I haven't given it too much thought."

"Oh really?" Marinette said.

Adrien shook his head. "No, not really. I guess I've just have had," he said, "things on my mind."

Marinette fought a frown as she thought about the previous night's revelations. He really did have a lot on his shoulders. Adrien sighed. What the hell was he doing? This was Marinette; he couldn't push his troubles onto her. It was bad enough that he had fallen apart in front of Ladybug. He smiled a bit to fight back the sad look in his eyes. "What about you, Marinette?"

The two of them stopped before Damocles' door. "I don't know," Marinette said, "maybe I'll try on some cat ears." Marinette chuckled a bit at her poor excuse of a joke. She knew if she was Ladybug that Adrien would just melt into a puddle. She hoped that her likeness to her superhero self would maybe give Adrien a bit of a boost.

Marinette's heart fluttered when a small grin curled Adrien's lips. They walked into the principal's office and dropped off the papers without incident. Damocles didn't even say much; he just gestured to a spot on his desk before dismissing the students with a smile and a wave of his hand. Adrien's grin remained throughout the interaction. Adrien always did think that Marinette's pigtails looked a lot like Ladybug. Sometimes he even thought that they were one in the same. But those fantasies were always thwarted by Marinette's timid nature. Sure, she was a tad compulsive like the polka-dotted heroine, but Adrien never took her as the type to run straight into danger.

"Are you going to wear the bell and tail too?" Adrien said with a pep in his step.

A light blush covered Marinette's cheeks, but she kept her joking smile. She almost felt like she was Chat. "Maybe, who knows," she said with an exaggerated shrug.

They were coming to the classroom then. They ended their conversation with a mutual nod before Adrien opened the door for Marinette. Marinette went to her seat quickly as Mme. Bustier wrote some characters' names on the chalkboard.

As Marinette took her seat, she swore that Adrien's grin had grown.


	11. Choices and Outfits

The day's classes passed by quickly. Excited chatter and passed texts mute the teacher's lessons as the students secretly continued to work on their exhibit. Many of the teachers grumbled about the students' split attention, but couldn't help smiling as they watched the teens working together.

Things seemed to slow down around physics class as Mme. Mendeleiev tapped her pen against her desk. Many teens grumbled as they took out their notebooks. Marinette doodled in her notebook as Mendeleiev discussed the qualities of electricity. Marinette thought back to her conversation with Adrien. She was glad that she managed to get him smiling but the conversation also made her think about something she had put on the back burner. What the hell was she going to wear?

Ladybug was out for obvious reasons. Actually, she was going to steer clear of anything red and black. The class had decided to not do American comic heroes, so Marinette was going to have to get creative. There was one week left before the festival. What in the hell could she scrounge up in a few days? The only rule was that everyone had to have a mask of some sort.

The bell rang just as Mme. Mendeleiev announced homework that no one except Max would probably do on time. The excitement was palpable as the students filed out of the room and congregated into friend groups around the courtyard.

Marinette wandered, lost in thought, when Alya slung her arm around Marinette's shoulders. Marinette jumped a bit while Alya giggled to herself.

"Hey girl," Alya said as Marinette playfully pushed her elbow into Alya's side. "What's with the spacing out? You've been daydreaming all day."

"Have not."

Alya smirked. "Oh really? Then tell me what last class was about?"

Marinette looked around, trying to remember anything from the past hour. She could only think of designs of possible heroes and the sketches in her notebook. "Ah, okay fine. I wasn't exactly paying the most attention."

Alya smirk turned into a straight up grin. "Oh? Did it have to do with your little walk this morning?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. Alya was half right, she guessed. "No, I was just thinking about next week." She wasn't lying.

"Is it really that soon?"

Marinette nodded. "Oh yeah, Alya do you know who you're going to dress up as?"

Alya stopped for a moment with an ear-to-ear smile. "Isn't it obvious?" Marinette shook her head. "Ladybug of course," Alya said with her chest out.

Marinette couldn't help but giggle at Alya's enthusiasm. She really was a fangirl. It almost made Marinette proud. She caused this. She caused this passion to rise in Alya. Sure it was embarrassing at times, but she was nothing but happy when Alya fell deep into her obsession.

"Is Nino being Chat Noir then?"

"Of course."

Marinette fell into a fit of giggles as she imagined the hyper DJ getting into ridiculous poses and trying to make up 'clever' puns. Only the real Chat could come up with corny jokes the way he did. Nino would just sit there and struggle to wear his glasses over the black mask.

"Oh, are you laughing at me?" Alya said with hands on her hips, "Then what're you wearing?"

Marinette shrugged. She thought back to her earlier conversation to Adrien. Maybe she would try the cat theme, but she wasn't quite set on it just yet. She didn't want to become a gender-bend of her partner.

"Well," Alya said, "I'm sure you'll come up with something just fabulous. Watch, Adrien won't be able to resist you after next week." Marinette's heart skipped as she thought about him. He was smiling this morning, but was he really okay? She pasted on a wider to smile to ward off any vacant expressions.

"Oh my God, Alya," Marinette said with a fresh wave of giggles coming on. "Just stop."

Alya gave her a wink. "Have some faith."

"Am I interrupting something?" Nino said from the stairwell. He took off his headphones as he came to Alya's side. He wrapped an arm around Alya with a stupid grin.

"Always, you big dork," Alya said while giving her boyfriend a wide smile.

Marinette suddenly felt the third wheel effect. Adrien was going to be picked up shortly if he wasn't already. Marinette said her goodbyes to the happy couple before making her way home. Adrien was just climbing into his family's car as Marinette walked down the school's front steps.

They locked eyes and exchanged a small wave. Marinette almost forgot to lift her hand before the Gorilla sped away with Adrien in tow.

* * *

Adrien kept thinking about outfits for next week. He couldn't do Chat, obviously, but he lacked in the creativity department. He was always more of a thinker than a maker. Maybe that's why Ladybug had the confusing ability while his destruction powers were more straightforward. American heroes were out of the question due to a class poll, but what about other countries?

As soon as Adrien got home, he went straight to his room. His father was still out of sight, and that was fine by him. His father's warmth was fresh in his memory and he'd hate to spoil it.

His door locked behind with a click, as Adrien went to his wall to wall bookshelves. He scanned the titles until he came to the brightly colored section that housed his manga collection. He pulled out a number of volumes from various series. He looked over the brightly colored costumes for any spark of inspiration and wondered how in the hell that Marinette was able to pull things into existence from her thoughts.

Eventually the floor was covered in manga and Adrien laid in the middle of it on his back. He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. The flashy costumes were all too complex. Sure, he could buy one, but that didn't feel right. Everything so far was handmade. Using money seemed like a cop out at this point.

He groaned. Plagg floated from his bed hidden in Adrien's bedside table. He yawned as he landed atop Adrien's chest. "What are you griping about now?"

"Next week."

"What about it?"

"The festival and the cafe?"

"Oh, the superheroes coming home thing. Right. Right. I think you mentioned that."

"Yeah well, I need to figure out a costume."

Plagg rolled on his back in laughter while Adrien let out another groan. Plagg really was never any help. Ever. "Oh my God, kid. I knew you were something, but this takes the cheese."

"Cake, Plagg. You're supposed to say cake."

Plagg shrugged. "But cheese is so much better," he said, "Anyways, why don't you just wear a mask and a suit. You can probably just say you're some robin hood or something."

An idea popped into Adrien's head. He could do that with the addition of some props. He clamored down his stairs to his desktop. He quickly went to Google and searched for an older franchise, one he hadn't read or even watched but knew quite well.

A wide smile spread across Adrien's face as the possibility came before his eyes. He would be cosplaying pretty much, but it would work.

Well it would almost work… he just needed a top hat.

* * *

Marinette headed home without delay. She really couldn't put anything off with only a few days left. She crawled into her room soon after greeting her parents. Hopefully she wouldn't have to disappear this time.

She sat on her bed with sketchbook in hand and began flipping through the pages. She came upon her bowler hat designs from a few months ago and found one rejected sketch, a hat covered in flowers. She leaned against the wall and stared at the drawing.

 _Flowers…_

Tikki flew over and landed on the edge of Marinette's sketchbook with her big blue eyes scanning the drawing. "What are you going to do with that?"

Marinette ripped out the flower hat drawing before turning to a new page in her sketchbook. She quickly sketched out a basic dress scape over a generic human figure. "I think I've got something."

Marinette intently sketched out a design for her new hero. It was going to be nothing like her aerodynamic spots. It was, well, cute.

Tikki clapped her small hands when Marinette finished her second, more polished sketch of the design. Marinette smiled as she placed the book and pencil onto her desk. She rubbed her eyes, leaving a graphite smudge on her cheekbone.

She snatched her tablet and scrolled through social media. She was in no state of mind to do homework; instead, she wanted to concentrate on finishing her costume. One week wasn't going to kill her. As she scrolled, she came upon a video posted by Adrien, a playful match between a kitten and a golden retriever puppy.

Marinette smiled at the video, but that smile soon diminished as she thought about her partner. He was probably still hurting. He smiled in class, but Adrien was good at hiding. He didn't need the mask to hide his personal life. Marinette thought about his mother.

 _Fuck, how is he doing really?_

"Tikki," Marinette said, "can we go out right now?"

"What for?"

"Just a little visit."


	12. Late Night Visit and a Scaredy Cat

**[A/N: Ok, I know that I'm late. Unfortunately I cannot promise that this won't happen again. Someone asked how often I plan to update this summer and the answer is hopefully every 7-10 days. I have virtually no routine for the coming weeks so it has become difficult to find writing time ^^;, I hope you all understand and have an awesome read :D]**

Nathalie knocked on Adrien's door, sending the teen and his kwami into a small frenzy as Plagg quickly hid underneath a pillow. Adrien sat up from the floor and placed one of the manga into his lap.

Nathalie peeked her head in and adjusted her glasses as she examined the mess of books across the floor. She sighed before reciting the data from her clipboard.

Adrien flopped onto his bed as soon as Nathalie left his room after telling him his schedule changes for the coming weeks. At least his father had the wherewithal to lessen Adrien's load right before the festival.

Nathalie closed the door with a click and walked down the hall to her office to gather her things. Before she left, she took a peek into Gabriel's office where the designer was gazing at his missing wife's portrait. Nathalie bit her lip as she thought about Adrien alone in his room. The two of them were truly the most unfortunate, and they couldn't talk about it at all. Nathalie wished that Mme. Agreste would return even to just stop the endless cycle of loneliness sweeping the Agreste household. Quietly, she made her way to a side lot where her car was parked and drove off for the night.

Adrien hopped off his bed as Plagg floated before Adrien's monitors to view Adrien's various reference photos. "Are you really going to go to school dressed like this weirdo magician?" Plagg said while nibbling on a fresh wedge of cheese.

"Yes, because he's a hero, not a magician. Well sort of."

"So he's a sidekick."

"More like a comrade."

"Well doesn't that sound familiar."

Adrien shot Plagg a glare. "Really, Plagg? First, we're partners. Second, is this really the time for this?"

Plagg landed atop Adrien's keyboard. He scarfed down the rest of his snack before wiping his mouth with the back of his paw. "Lighten up, kid."

Adrien sighed. He knew that Plagg was just trying to help. Gabriel's coldness wasn't exactly what Adrien wanted and after his small respite, he felt the loneliness only more. "Fine," Adrien said before sitting in his computer chair to stare at the plethora of screens.

* * *

Marinette transformed into Ladybug and climbed onto her terrace. The last rays of orange sun shone over the horizon as a small breeze cooled the early spring evening. She took in a deep breath.

 _What the hell am I getting myself into?_

Her yo-yo wrapped around a far away building, and she zipped into the darkening sky. A few pedestrians pointed and took photos of the spotted heroine, but Ladybug paid them no mind. She had other things to think about.

Ladybug took the scenic route around Paris in order to ward off any followers. Apparently Alya's fans were beginning to have their eye out for the super duo. Ladybug eventually swung into the many supports of the Eiffel Tower where she easily hid from any remaining eyes. She climbed through the steel bars until she came upon the back of the Agreste mansion. She quickly hopped into one of the grassy patches of land that bordered the property as she searched for Adrien's window. She had only been there a few times before, and she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. The premises had the same cold atmosphere she remembered the first time she walked into the home. It felt empty with no light coming from any of the sizable windows. All except for one.

* * *

Adrien leaned into his armchair with his hands nestled behind his neck. Craft supplies were strewed across the floor, and a finished, if a bit amateur looking, mask sat on his desk atop a pile of textbooks. Everything was more or less ready. He even still had a cape from an old costume party. He thanked the heavens that the thing still fit.

Plagg continued to zip around and play around in the various supplies like ribbon and excess craft paper.

Ladybug quietly landed on the awning above Adrien's sizable window. She took a deep breath while wrapping her yo-yo around one of the many guardrails that lined the perimeter of the mansion's upper levels.

 _I'm just going to check in on him. Nothing more. Nothing less. I'm just going to check in on him._

Ladybug held onto the string tight as she hopped down the wall with her feet gently tapping against the glass. The blue glare of Adrien's computer screen warped through the thick paned glass. Adrien's figure was barely discernible, but she could see something else. A small, black shadow zipped around the room, creating fleeting holes in the computer's light.

A breath hitched in Ladybug's throat as figured what the little figure must've been. It had to be his kwami. Sure, she knew who Chat really was. She knew that, but actually seeing physical proof while knowing was a feeling that she was unprepared for.

Plagg's ears perked up as a distinct tapping came into the room. Adrien zoned out in front of the monitors as the cat kwami, much to Ladybug's surprise and dismay, went to investigate. Ladybug turned to all directions as she noticed the black shadow near. She jumped off the glass and swung, but it was too late.

Plagg pushed his face against the cool glass. His unearthly green eyes grew as Ladybug's red suit became clear in the dim light. Plagg backed from the glass slowly with his head shaking side to side. He couldn't figure any reason for Ladybug to be there. The heroine had nothing to do with Adrien, right? Plagg clamored behind the couch, but he knew that she saw him. Ladybug saw Plagg, and he knew it.

Plagg's quick hiding drew Adrien out of his thoughts. "Plagg?" Adrien said while spinning his office chair around, "What are you getting in-"

Words vanished as Adrien's eyes met Ladybug's. Adrien's heart skipped a beat as he slowly stood from his chair. Ladybug's feet landed softly on the glass, eyes locked on Adrien, while her mind raced.

Adrien nearly ran to the window and unlatched the window. "L-Ladybug?" he said quietly. He rubbed his eyes as if to rid himself of any illusion, but Ladybug still stood there on the glass with a dumbfounded look.

She really hadn't intended to be seen. She just wanted to check on him and make sure that the smiles weren't just for school. That's all she wanted, but there was Adrien in all his perfect glory. She raised one hand to give him a pathetic wave as she fought for through her nerves for any words. Ladybug closed her eyes for a moment. She had to calm down. She took a deep breath before locking eyes with Adrien again. Fuck, she really was smitten. "Oh, um, hi Adrien," Ladybug said with one hand rubbing the back of her neck.

Adrien looked away as warmth creeped into his cheeks and ears. "Oh, yes. Hello," he said, copying Ladybug with his hand wrapped behind his neck. Out of the corner of his eye, Adrien caught Plagg zip behind some of Adrien's old fencing trophies. Right, he couldn't let Ladybug see Plagg. Wait. He glanced at her figure in the emerging moonlight with that focused gaze of hers. "Umm, what are you doing here? Is there an akuma around?" He said, still not quite meeting her bright, blue eyes.

"Oh, you know, just in the area," Ladybug said now looking at her hand clenched around the string. She took a moment to get a better look into the room. A suit and costume cape were laid across the couch and a white, craft paper mask was wrapped around a fencing trophy. So that was his plan. A small smile flashed over her lips. He was actually making something instead of wallowing. Ladybug couldn't ask for anything better.

Adrien thought the whole situation was almost too good to be true. Ladybug just happened to be in the area? What were the chances? When would he ever get a chance like this ever again? "Um, do you want to come in? You can rest a bit."

It was Ladybug's heart's turn to skip as she processed the request. Adrien 'Perfection' Agreste was inviting her into his room. And not out of necessity this time. She bit her lip. Should she? She glanced over the door that led to the hallway. It was completely dark underneath. He seemed to be doing fine, but a little time would completely quell her worries, right? She nodded with a polite smile before swinging over the windowsill.

Adrien stepped out of the way as Ladybug hopped in and retracted her yo-yo. Ladybug's tool of choice returned to her hip as she took a few steps into the massive room. She pretended to look at the mess for the first time. "Are you going to a party or something?"

"Ahh, not quite," Adrien said before scurrying around the room to tidy up. Of course he had the best luck when it came to his lady. "It's for a school event."

"Oh?" Ladybug said with a knowing look. "Like a play."

Adrien turned as he put the craft supplies back into their designated bin. "No, no, no, nothing like that. It's just a cafe. We're doing costumes, y'know, like the ones you find in manga and anime?" Adrien's cheeks reached a new level of pink as he realized what he just said. Had he just talked about an anime trope with Ladybug of all people? Not even Nino would sit through Adrien's small (but rare) nerd-out sessions. Adrien put a hand behind his neck again as if he could brush away what he just said.

A small chuckle escaped Ladybug. He truly was a dork. A giant one at that. "Well that sounds fun to me."

"Does it really?"

"Yes, i-it sounds quite lively."

Adrien's lit up. "It really is. My entire class is excited," he said while picking up the white mask, "We decided to do superheroes of all things. Isn't that funny?"

"Superheroes?" Ladybug said, making sure to lay her ignorance act on thick.

"Yeah, that's what we're dressing up as."

"I see. Is that why there's a mask on your desk?"

Adrien smile grew a bit. "You know it?"

"Who doesn't?" Ladybug said with hands on hips.

"You have a point there."

"What made you decide on him?"

Adrien glanced over to the computer screens covered in reference photos of the gentlemanly hero. He really picked the character out of convenience, but that didn't seem like a good enough answer. He scratched his brain for anything sounding the least lame, but time was ticking so he just opened his mouth. "I guess I just liked his story. You know, he does what he can to help those around him without hindering them. He doesn't have any flashy powers or anything, but he can still do so much."

Adrien had a small glimmer in his eye as he described the masked hero. As he talked, Adrien couldn't help but think that the hero sort of paralleled Chat. Sure, he had Cataclysm, but other than that, his main powers were physical rather than magical.

"Reminds me of someone," Ladybug said, noticing the gleam in Adrien's bright green eyes.

"Really?"

"Yeah, what you're talking about reminds me of Chat." Adrien's heart skipped once again. He wondered if he would just drop dead from all the skipped beats. Ladybug's cheeks reddened as Adrien's smile only became more apparent. "I don't know what I would ever do without him."

Ladybug swore that Adrien's eyes shone brighter than stars. He looked, well, elated. Ladybug went on to say the most compliments she could think of about her dorky partner. The fact that he was right next to her in his civilian self made that difficult though. But Ladybug was glad to do it. She was glad to push to through her embarrassment if it meant seeing that happy gleam flash over those sorrowful, green eyes.


	13. Late Night Visits

Adrien's heart swelled with every one of Ladybug's compliments. The stream of words coming out of his lady's lips sounded like sweet music as seemed to reminiscence the various adventures she had had with his feline alter ego. It made him feel less like a sidekick or cute accessory. With her, he wasn't a pretty face or an overachiever. He was a part of team. He tried to not let his smile stretch his cheeks too much.

Adrien motioned over the couch. Ladybug's words ceased as she played with her fingers behind her back. With a sigh, Ladybug took a seat while Adrien leaned against the nearby coffee table. Despite his racing heart, Adrien wanted to at least give a sense of 'coolness'.

"He really means that much to you?" Adrien said with the hint of a confident smile. Those compliments were getting to his head, and his reserved civilian self was getting chipped away. It wasn't like he was a complete flirt Chat Noir was his true self or anything, but Adrien could feel a bit of his alter ego's confidence seep into the way he leaned against the table and the amount of focus he was able to put into the conversation with Ladybug.

Ladybug looked off to the side. Fuck, since when did he look at her so intently? "Well," Ladybug said, her bright blue eyes focusing on the full moon outside, "I mean, he's my partner. It would be a crime to say he didn't."

"I'm sure he would be glad to hear that." Adrien said, his eyes full of admiration for the spotted heroine. He thought about how Ladybug would feel if he revealed himself right then. His eyes wandered over to his cheese stash drawer. He knew that wasn't an option though. Plagg and Ladybug warned him about the dangers of knowing each other's identities.

Ladybug focused on her fingers playing in her lap. "I'm sure he would," she said with a smile that lit up Adrien's world.

* * *

Gabriel paced around his office with a plethora of documents and designs lined up on his desk. One couldn't quite say that it was a mess, but it wasn't orderly either. The papers were just out of place enough to make Gabriel uncomfortable, but he couldn't do anything about it. More like, he couldn't bring himself to do it. His mind was a jumble.

He couldn't remember anything that had happened during Mistress Mind's rampage, but he knew that Adrien was affected. Nathalie had already apologized about twenty times, probably more. Everything was more or less back to normal. Adrien was back in his room. Alone. Like always.

Gabriel sighed before glancing at his phone's calendar. Adrien's spring festival was the next week, but so was his summer season's design meetings. It would be a miracle if he could get away even for a moment. His hands clenched behind his back as his pacing continued. Adrien was alone. Adrien was sad. And Adrien was going to be alone for his first school festival.

He glanced at his phone again. It was just about nine o'clock. He had asked Nathalie to tell Adrien about his meetings. He was sure that the message got across despite the akuma attack. Considering everything, he might as well go talk to him.

He took one look at his wife's painting. His steely eyes filled with pain as he gazed at his wife's smiling face.

Oh please, come home soon…

He slid his phone into his pocket before heading down the eerily quiet halls. Not even Nathalie's near constant typing filled the empty air. It was as if a phantom wandered the halls instead of a man.

* * *

Adrien and Ladybug's hearts stopped when a series of slow but deliberate knocks rang into the room. Ladybug shot up from her seat, her eyes shooting between the door and the open window. Which would be faster? Another few knocks came.

Adrien hopped off the table and quickly walked over to the door. He silently motioned for Ladybug to run into the bathroom. Her eyes darted over to the open window one last time before she raced into the large restroom. She closed the door behind her then nervously paced the length of the sizable bathroom, making sure not to enter the large shower. She would rather not think of her previous encounters with the room.

Adrien's heart went from zero to one hundred in the three seconds it took him to reach the door. Gabriel's fingers laced together behind his back as he awaited his son's response. He almost thought that Adrien was asleep until he heard voices and scurrying feet.

Who was he talking to?

Adrien opened the door with wide eyes. His hand clenched around the door handle, and his ring dug into his hand as he took in his father's presence. The last time they were this close was during the Mistress Mind attack. Adrien took a half step back as his father straightened his posture. Gabriel's chest stuck out a bit as he surveyed his son's room. There was no one inside. He dismissed the voices to a movie or video game. The television was off. Gabriel sighed. First there was the ring, now there was this. What exactly was Adrien getting himself into?

"F-Father?" Adrien said after managing to let go of the door. He folded his hands in front of him and straightened his back. He was always a crappy liar when it came to his father, but Ladybug was there, and was counting on him.

Gabriel focused on Adrien. His heart warmed at the sight of his boy, but kept his cold exterior. "Hello Adrien," he said in his usual calm tone.

"Is there something wrong?" Adrien said tentatively. He absent mindedly played with his miraculous ring as a cold atmosphere settled between them.

"No, not at all," he said with his hands tightening behind his back, "I was just … checking on you. There was that attack the other day." Gabriel said. His eyes couldn't quite focus on Adrien. He was too distracted by the memory of voices and frantic steps. Something was up. Actually, there were a lot of things amiss, but Gabriel could only do so much.

Ladybug froze when she heard Gabriel's voice. Her heart beat against her ribs as she pushed herself against the wall next to the door. She managed to open the door enough to sneak a glance into the lit room. Gabriel's tall figure filled the far off doorframe like a sentinel. Ladybug focused in on the fashion designer as he discreetly scanned the room. Gabriel's gaze passed over the bathroom door causing Ladybug to quickly retreat behind the nearby wall. She placed a hand before her mouth to stifle her heavy breaths. She mentally cursed herself until she managed to slow her breathing to a more silent rhythm. Ladybug pushed herself against the wall next to the door, hand still over her mouth, as she intently listened to the Agrestes' conversation.

Adrien felt a wave of relief. His father was just checking on him. Wait. His father was checking in on him. "Oh umm right," he said, not quite meeting Gabriel's gaze, "I'm fine… how about you, father?" Adrien was almost relieved to see his father's eyes wander. Almost. Adrien took a step closer to his father and kept the door close his back to reduce his father's view into his room. He hoped it was enough to cover Ladybug in case her suit stuck out in the moonlight in any way.

Gabriel straightened up. "Quite fine," he said, "Right, well I better leave you to what you were doing. Please go to bed soon, you have school tomorrow." Gabriel's lips straightened into a line as his eyes rested on Adrien again.

"Good night, father." Adrien said, not quite meeting his father's eyes again. He wondered how his father could look at him so intently despite never being around.

Gabriel nodded before turning into the hallway. His eyes scanned Adrien's room one final time before he walked to his room for the night.

Gabriel thought about Adrien as he readied for bed. He didn't seem as upset as before. Adrien even seemed sort of happy. Gabriel felt relieved as he settled in for the night, but something gnawed at his gut. Something was in the room. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt that someone else was in there.

Adrien took a deep breath as he quietly closed the door. As Adrien walked over, Ladybug slowly opened the bathroom door and stepped into the room. Ladybug's heart still raced as she came to Adrien's side.

"I should go," she said quietly.

"Oh, right," Adrien said, shaking his head to rid himself of his jumbled thoughts. "Good night then, Ladybug."

A small blush crossed over Ladybug's cheeks. "G-good night, Adrien," she said. A small, perfect silence passed before Ladybug took a step forward. Adrien wasn't ready, and froze when Ladybug quickly hugged him. She gave him a squeeze before dashing to the window and disappearing into the night.

Adrien dropped into his rolling chair as his brain tried to catch up to his racing heart. His eyes followed Ladybug as her red silhouette disappeared into the cityscape.

Ladybug was in his room. Ladybug was talking with him in his room. Alone. Ladybug hugged him.

She hugged him.

And he wasn't dreaming.

He wasn't Chat. He was Adrien Agreste, and Ladybug hugged him.

His hands covered his face in a futile attempt to hide his rosy cheeks. Plagg ventured out of his hiding spot and landed on Adrien's lap. Plagg played with his tail while Adrien mentally walked through the night's events over and over again.

He just couldn't believe it. Any of it. Not even his father coming in seemed real. The entire night felt like a blurred dream that was too sweet to forget. Plagg began to chew on his tail, an uncommon nervous habit, as Adrien's hands finally left his face.

* * *

Ladybug swung onto her terrace and quickly transformed soon after closing the hatch behind her and collapsing onto the bed. Tikki flew over to one of Marinette's drawer that housed a small stash of chocolate chip cookies.

Marinette buried her face into her pillow. Tikki floated up to Marinette's side and munched on her snack. Marinette groaned into her pillow as the last few moments flashed before her eyes. Gabriel Agreste saw her. Maybe. Maybe he didn't.

Tikki munched on her cookie as she mulled over the previous few moments. Her chosen one surely was a smitten young girl. It wasn't Tikki's first round with a lovesick hero, but this rendition was proving be a bit more interesting than earlier Ladybugs. None had been quite as self conscious as Marinette. Frankly, Tikki was surprised when Marinette hugged Adrien out of the blue. She watched Marinette bury her face further into her decorated pillow. "Well that to, but also his father."

Tikki's head lowered as she thought back to the bathroom. Her vision from within the miraculous was constricted to what Marinette could see. Marinette freaked out and hid behind the wall before Tikki could ascertain whether or not Gabriel had seen them. "Oh, right. We probably shouldn't come around there any time soon."

Marinette rolled onto her side so that she was face-to-face with her kwami. You're probably right Tikki. I just hope he's okay now."

"I hope so to, Marinette."

* * *

Adrien looked down from his chair to where Plagg nervously played with the end of his tail. Adrien scooped Plagg into his palms and brought him up to eye level. "What's wrong Plagg?" he said with furrowed brows.

Plagg looked to the side before letting out a sigh. His tail whipped behind him as he refused to meet Adrien's eyes. "Oh God, stop looking at me like that, kid," Plagg said while gazing at the open window, "I think … I think she might have seen me."

Adrien's jaw nearly dropped to the floor as the weight of Plagg's word hit him like ten ton train.

"What?" Adrien said, barely over a whisper.

"I was out when she came through the window. I don't know if she saw me or not…"

Adrien's eyes grew into saucers as a hand went over his mouth. "Ladybug might know who I am," he whispered to himself. His heart dropped just as the words left his lips. His lady, the love of his life, might know his identity. She might know that he isn't as witty or funny in real life. She might know that he's a minor Parisian celebrity.

Plagg floated back into Adrien's line of sight in a frenzy. "But maybe she didn't," he said quickly, "I might have hid just in time."

"But what if you didn't?"

Plagg tried to play off his nerves with an exaggerated shrug. "Then, you might have a new fan there, kid."

Adrien leaned back in his chair. "You are ridiculous Plagg," he groaned, "Is this really the time for jokes?"

"Maybe you'll have a chance now, kid."

Adrien leaned forward and gave Plagg the dirtiest look he could muster. This was not fine. This was anything but fine. The secrecy of their identities was their primary source of security. Sure, Adrien wanted to know Ladybug's identity, but he knew the risks. His civilian self was far too public and anyone knowing about his double life was at risk. Even his partner was now at risk. He had faith in her, but anything could happen. What if a truth extracting akuma came around or she was threatened. "Plagg, this is serious. I need to see Ladybug."

"Slow down there, lover boy. You can't just go out and search for her? What if your dad comes back? He seemed pretty suspicious earlier."

"Oh crap, you're right. Fine, I won't go looking for her, not tonight anyways."

"Anyways, kid, what's done is done. Hunting her down isn't going to help anything," Plagg said with another shrug.

"Plagg, I think I got the message." Adrien leaned over his desk and played around with the edge of the mask hanging off his trophy. "Fine, but I want you to be extra diligent for the next few days. I don't know what will happen, especially with the festival coming up."

"You don't have to tell me twice, kid. Just take care of yourself."

"Will do, Plagg."

Adrien quit playing with the ribbons attached to the mask and quickly changed into a pair of boxers for bed. He rolled up into his blankets and fought through a sea of thoughts before eventually succumbing to sleep.


	14. A New Day

**[A/N: I am sorry if there are any errors. had no second set of eyes this time ^^;. Anywho, enjoy this slightly early update :D]**

Marinette stared at her ceiling as the moon made way for the early morning sun. Sleep came in quick flashes that only allowed for glimpses of ludicrous dreams. Most of said dreams however took her back to Adrien's room. Those sorrowful green eyes lighting up for even a moment constantly came to her mind as she was dragged from one restless bout of sleep to the next.

Marinette sat up after her fifth round of horrible sleep. Tikki stirred while Marinette climbed down the ladder to the main area of her room. She flipped open her sketchbook to where her superhero designs were. With everything going on, she had had barely enough time to even make a pattern for the costume.

There was no time like the present.

Tikki rubbed her eyes as the sewing machine ran. Pastel green fabric passed beneath the machine in a constant stream. Marinette steered her thoughts away from Adrien to the fabric. Before she knew it, the main parts of the dress were ready to have embellishments sewn on. The sun peeked over the Parisian cityscape as she checked the time on her phone.

Where did the time go?

She had five hours before school, tops. Tikki floated down from her seat atop Marinette's bed. She landed on Marinette's head and patted her Chosen on the forehead. "Marinette," Tikki said, "Please sleep. Even for just a little bit."

Marinette sighed before setting down her fifth fabric flower of the night. Why did she think this damned design was a good idea? She finally nodded and stuck her sewing needle into her tomato shaped pin cushion. "I know, Tikki, but…"

"You can't fall asleep."

"Precisely."

"Marinette," Tikki said with downcast eyes as she landed on the pile of green fabric, "I know you're worried, but not sleeping is only going to make things worse."

Marinette buried her face into the cotton to groan. "Fine, Tikki," she finally said. With a yawn, Marinette climbed back into her bed and fell asleep soon after hitting the sheets. Tikki smiled warmly at the girl as she closed the curtains to drench the room in sweet, silent darkness.

Adrien's dreams were a whirlpool of glee and anxiety. One moment he would be happily talking with friends and remembering Ladybug's features while the next he would be looking right into his father's steely eyes. He tossed and turned throughout the night, sufficiently annoying Plagg as he was constantly whacked on the head or tail.

Plagg was ready to bite Adrien's hand when Adrien's phone alarm went off. The upbeat tune of an anime opening blared in Adrien's ear, effectively pulling him from his adventurous dreams. Adrien grabbed his phone from his night stand and quickly stopped the song. Plagg rolled over so he was on his stomach and let out a large yawn.

Plagg smacked his lips as he warded off the last bits of sleep from himself. "Geez kid, were you fighting a war in your sleep?" Plagg said with his head hanging over the pillow casing. His arms flopped beside his head after a sizable stretch.

"You're just on a roll this week, aren't you?" Adrien said from his pillow. He rolled onto his back and stretched his arms before rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Aren't I always?"

"No, you're not actually," Adrien grumbled, "And I was not fighting a war. I don't think so at least."

"Ok, don't go deep on me, kid," Plagg said, floating into the air and stretching again. He flew over to Adrien's cheese stash and snatched his usual breakfast. He didn't even bother leaving the night stand before digging into his camembert wedge.

Adrien chuckled as he lugged himself out of bed. His socks slid on the wooden floor as he walked over to his closet to retrieve his clothes. The swirling dreams eventually left his mind as he readied for the coming school day.

Before long, Adrien was ready for breakfast and Nathalie was at his door. She gave him a worried glance before pasting on her professional facade. Adrien passed his desk before following Nathalie out the door. The mask lazily hung from one of his many trophies and his other costume pieces were strewn across his office chair. The festival was only seven days away, and he could hardly wait.

Plagg finished his breakfast before zipping into Adrien's bag. Adrien's meal went just as usual. It was the same silent and lonely affair as any other morning. His father didn't greet him. Adrien actually got his hopes up that his father would join him after last night's little check up.

With a sigh, Adrien pushed back his chair and headed to the garage where the Gorilla awaited in the car. Adrien passed by his father's office; Gabriel stood hunched over his desk where a mess of papers covered his desk. Adrien passed the door silently before entering the garage and leaving for school.

Marinette swiped her phone as the alarm went off. Rock music filled her room as she blindly searched for her phone with her head still smothered in her pillow. Tikki uncurled herself from Marinette's side and brought the ringing phone into Marinette's reach. Not even Jagged Stone could pull Marinette fully out of her sleep. She lazily fumbled with the screen trying to turn off the music. Tikki had to hold back a few chuckles as Marinette's blue hair emerged from the pillows and sheets.

Tikki burst into a fit of giggles as Marinette rubbed the back of her head. Marinette rolled out of her bed and nearly fell trying to get to the main level of her room. Tikki landed atop Marinette's costume from last night to watch her Chosen bumble around the room in her half-awake state. It was like watching a zombie try to fit in with the living. Tikki watched a little longer before deciding that Marinette probably needed help. Tikki placed Marinette's school bag on her work chair and turned it so it was in plain view of Marinette who was getting dressed in her usual school clothes.

Marinette sat before her mirror trying to conceal the dark bags beneath her eyes with her minimal makeup routine. She was nearly finished with her mascara when her Sabine opened her door.

"Mari, breakfast is ready when you are," Sabine said while taking a discreet scan of her daughter's messing room. Green fabric was piled onto Marinette's work table along with a number of sketches and small incomplete fabric flowers. She smiled a bit before ducking out of the room, leaving Marinette to wrangle her hair into her pigtails.

Memories of the previous night came in flashes. She couldn't help but blush when she thought about those slight smiles he gave her when she talked about Chat. Maybe she should praise her partner more often. It was too bad that Adrien was so unlucky in the family department. She thought that maybe she could go back to the Agreste mansion sometime, but then there was Gabriel. Did he see her?

She sighed. There was no use worrying about it. She couldn't turn back in time and check or anything. She fastened her last hair tie before grabbing her bag. Tikki zipped into the bag as Marinette climbed down the stairs.

Sabine and Tom were already in the bakery readying for the day, but a fresh croissant and bowl of sliced strawberries still waited for Marinette atop the table. Marinette quickly tucked into her meal, making sure to slide Tikki a piece of the buttery bread.

Before long Marinette was on her way to school. Neither her nor Tikki brought up the night before. It was far too embarrassing and anxiety inducing to discuss in that very moment. Adrien's emotions and Gabriel's presence weighed heavily on Marinette and Tikki didn't want to make things worse for her.

School came into view. Marinette saw Alya walk up to the front steps. The two girls greeted each other with an enthusiastic hug before walking into the school's main courtyard. It was the last Friday before the festival, making the students brim with excitement. The same posters adorned the walls, but more and more students were actually reading them as the event neared.

"What happened to you last night? You have huge bags under your eyes," Alya said with a joking tone.

Marinette covered her face with her free hand. Looks like her amateur makeup skills failed her. "Oh, just some late night sewing."

"More sewing? Girl, you have to learn to take a break."

Marinette sighed. If only she could tell Alya everything, but that would make things … complicated. "I know, I know. Just … with the festival coming and my costume and all, I guess that I just got little over my head," Marinette said, finally removing her hand from her face. Hiding it wasn't going to change anything.

"Need any help with that costume of yours?"

Marinette thought back to her design and all the small fabric flowers that she was going to have to make. Sure, they were easy to make and attach but the design called for so many. With her super hero and class duties, she felt like she was drowning. "Actually, that might be nice."

Alya smirked and put her hands on her hips. She could work with this. She could definitely work with this. She patted Marinette on the shoulder. "Okay, I can help you with that."

"Really?" Marinette said.

"Yeah, does tonight sound good?" Alya asked as she ascended the stairs leading up to their classroom. Alya lead the way, more so to hide the huge grin on her face than to pave the way for the awkward Marinette. Alya pulled out her phone and quickly shot a few texts to Nino.

Nino sat on the school's front steps waiting for Adrien's arrival. His phone went off and he brought it out.

Alya 3: Hey, can you do me a favor?

Nino looked at his phone quizzically. Alya asking for a favor could only mean a few things. Most likely it would be some scheme again. But they were always fun so he didn't mind all that much.

Nino: Sure, what's up?

Alya 3: Think you can get Adrien to go to Marinette's house again?

Nino thought back to the last time Alya asked for this kind of favor. Wasn't it when Marinette's uncle was in town and she needed a Chinese translator?

Nino: I can try.

Alya 3: OMG thank you so much! Love you! ;*

Nino chuckled to himself as he put his phone away. He really loved her despite her … tendencies. Nino looked up when he heard car brakes squeaking. The Agrestes should really get that fixed soon. It had already been a week since it started making noise.

Nino stood as Adrien came from the car. He admittedly looked happier than he had been in the past few weeks. _Maybe it was the festival that was cheering him up?_ Nino didn't particularly care for the reason, he was just glad to see his bro smiling. Adrien waved goodbye to the Gorilla before giving Nino the usual fist bump.

"What's up, man?" Nino said with a huge grin.

"Nothing much," Adrien said. He took a glance at the mulling students, many of whom carried boxes filled with decorations and props for festival.

"You must be busy with everything though," Nino said while scanning Adrien's expression.

"Actually not really, I got most everything done this past week. I just have to get my costume and some details done. I'm having a bit of trouble with one of the pieces.," Adrien said, not quite putting his full attention into his words. His mind was wandering to all the events from the past twenty four hours. He still couldn't quite believe that it had only been one day that that it was just a normal school day.

"Really dude? You're having trouble with something?"

Adrien nodded. "Believe it or not, I'm not perfect."

"Says the model who can speak Chinese, fence, play basketball, and play piano," Nino said while making his way up the school's stairs. Adrien followed alongside him.

"Yes, really," Adrien said with a smile.

As the boys entered the main courtyard, Nino caught sight of Alya. He saw that she was with Marinette. He guessed that the present was no better time to get the Adrien and Marinette close to each other. Nino nudged Adrien in the arm before waving over Alya.

Alya quickly walked over to the boys with Marinette in tow. Marinette stood semi-confidently by Alya's side as the four teens formed a square. They all said their usual good mornings before Nino slung his arm around Alya. Those two were inseparable.

Marinette stole a glance at Adrien while Alya wrapped her arm around Nino's waist. Being the third wheel sucked. It sucked more when the boy who made her heart skip was standing right next to her. She couldn't quite meet his green eyes and instead faced the happy couple.

"Oh yeah, Marinette didn't you need help with something?" Alya said with a wink towards Nino. Nino winked back as he faced Adrien.

"I mean, I guess. I just have a lot of … things to take care of this week," Marinette said with a slight side glance towards Adrien. She prayed that he didn't notice.

"Things?" Adrien piped in. Marinette's heart jumped. Did he notice her looking at him? He didn't.

"Y-yeah, I have costume stuff after the festival prep stuff and well you know just life in general," she said in a near incoherent string of phrases.

Adrien couldn't help but chuckle a little to himself. "I think I get it," he said, "I'm having a bit of trouble with the festival stuff to."

"Really?," Marinette said. Alya and Nino looked at each other with the biggest grins imaginable. This was working out almost too perfectly.


	15. Unsuspecting Circumstances

Adrien was coming over that night for a mutual exchange. Marinette would whip up a simple top hat and he would help make and attach the numerous small fabric flowers she needed for her costume. Alya couldn't stop laughing when they met up after class. She said fate must have been in work since she didn't need to intervene. Adrien even got permission to come over remarkably quickly.

Marinette had conceded into the line of thinking after Alya's enthusiastic talking. Marinette frankly didn't even know how any of it happened. They were just talking and then he said he could come over. This week was becoming more unbelievable by the day.

Alya and Marinette split ways at the park. As Marinette walked home, she wondered what it must be like for Adrien to come to her home. She wondered what he thought whenever he saw her family. She had a mom and a dad. He lost both in a way.

Marinette sighed as she entered her home's back entrance due to a line of customers in the front. Friday afternoons were always the busiest. Sabine walked into the kitchen, searching a drawer for a coin roll. She turned as Marinette closed the door.

"Oh, you're home early," Sabine said as she turned back to the drawer to gather a number of coin rolls.

Marinette had to stifle her giggle. Her mom always lost track of time during busy days. "Mom, it's already four."

Sabine turned to the stove that showcased the time. "Oh, well welcome home," she said with an embarrassed smile.

"Thanks mom," Marinette said, a light giggle slipping out with her words. She stopped before heading up to her room. "Oh right, Mom a friend is coming over tonight."

"Alya?"

"No, Adrien."

"Oh," Sabine said with a smile, "okay, I'll make sure to have an extra plate ready at dinner."

"Y-you don't have to do that."

Sabine chuckled as she walked towards the bakery door. "It's alright, Mari. He can stay for dinner if he wants."

Marinette sighed. There was no winning this one. "Okay, thanks mom."

Marinette hurried into her room soon after Sabine entered the busy kitchen. Tikki flew into the open air after Marinette set down her school bag. "So, what are you going to say to him, Marinette?"

Marinette ran around the room to take down any embarrassing photos or evidence of her slight obsession. "Oh, um, I don't know. I guess I'll have to act normal."

"Good luck, Marinette."

"Thanks, Tikki."

* * *

Adrien talked with Nino while waiting for the Gorilla to pick him up. Sure, he was allowed to go, but he wasn't allowed to walk there even though it was only a five minute walk. If that.

"So, you're going to sew?" Nino said to Adrien.

"I guess?" Adrien said with a shrug.

"Do you know how to, dude?" Nino said with a chuckle.

"Sort of." Adrien said with a unfocused gaze. He thought back to his mother, who did a little sewing around the house, and his father who often sews mock garments for brainstorming. He had picked up the basics and could do simple repairs, not that he has had to do too many of those though. Marinette had said that she just needed help sewing on a lot of little flowers so he thought he could handle it.

"Really, I didn't know," Nino said while pushing up his glasses, "Not exactly something you'd hear from a model."

"Come on, Nino. Don't insult me," Adrien said teasingly.

Adrien's car came up the curb with the Gorilla behind the wheel and Nathalie in the passenger seat. The brakes stopped squeaking which relieved Nino since the noise grated his ears every morning. The two boys said their farewells with their usual fist bump before Adrien climbed into the car's back seat. It was silent for the first few seconds of the ride. It usually was. But this time was different. There was a different air than usual. It was a different sort of silence.

They were soon in front of the Dupain-Cheng's bakery. Nathalie turned in her seat as the Gorilla pulled up the curb. "Your father said to text him when you're done," she simply said before facing forward again.

Adrien stared at her dumbfounded before nodding and stepping out the car. Since when did they just let him go places? Adrien watched the car turn around the corner before walking over to the slowly shrinking line. He tried to pass the line quickly before any of the bakery's customers could possibly recognize him. A few girls gave a him a second glance as he approached the counter.

Sabine looked over. Her silver eyes lit up as she recognized Adrien. "Marinette is up in her room," she quickly said while opening the counter. Adrien gave her a polite nod and mouthed her a thank you before Sabine returned to the register to ring up a customer. Adrien walked past the bakery's kitchen into the main living area. A knot formed in his stomach. It wasn't

like he was new to coming into an empty house, but coming into your friends house without their parents inside made him uneasy. He made his way to the ladder leading to Marinette's room and knocked on the door quietly as to not bother the Dupain-Cheng's downstairs.

Marinette had just pulled down the last of the posters and changed her desktop wallpaper when she heard knocking. She just knew that it was him. Who else would it be? She took in a deep breath. "It's open," she called. Adrien opened the door, and Tikki zipped onto Marinette's bed to hide under a pillow. All of Marinette's bag were near the door or her work bench and Tikki didn't want to risk anything.

Marinette plopped herself into a chair trying to appear as calm and collected that her racing heart would allow. She was sure that her 'chill smile' was more like a dorky grin but there was not much she could do about that. Adrien pushed the door open and easily climbed into the room. Now that she thought about it, he was kind of cat-like. He crawled into the room almost too easily.

"Oh, hey Adrien," Marinette said while getting up from her seat.

"Hey, Marinette, thanks again for the help," he said before taking a quick look at her work table where a simple green teacup lay in a messy heap. A small plastic container held a number of small, simple fabric flowers while a cup held even smaller beads. He didn't know the hero, or if it was a custom design, but he what he did know was that it was fucking adorable. He scratched the back of his neck as his eyes traveled back to Marinette who had retaken her seat. "Is this the dress?"

Marinette glanced over to her project and picked it up to refold it. She couldn't believe that out of all the things she could forget that she forgot to tidy up the one thing that Adrien was sure to see. "Y-yeah," Marinette said past her embarrassment.

"It's really cute," Adrien said with an innocent smile. He looked at the pale green fabric. It reminded him of his missing mother. The green tint he could see her donning in early spring. He could almost swear that she wore a sundress in the exact same color last Easter. His smile faltered slightly, and Marinette noticed. She didn't know what was wrong, but she could sense something was off. Maybe it was all the time together as partners or just seeing him at home, whatever the reason, Marinette felt that her intuition was correct.

"Thanks," Marinette said. Marinette set down the dress and walked over to Adrien, whose smile had returned. "Should we get started on that hat?"

Adrien nodded, surprised to see Marinette approach his so confidently. It seemed almost familiar to him. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but the way that Marinette walked up to him reminded him of Ladybug. He shooed away the thought. It was ridiculous after all. He looked around himself. "So, what should I do?"

"Marinette grabbed a nearby measuring tape. "Do you want like a cloth one or just costumey cardboard one?" Marinette asked as she unfurled the tape.

"Whatever is easiest."

"Cardboard it is then, there's only a few days left, "Marinette finally finished unraveling her measuring tape. "Umm, could you sit down?" she said while motioning over to one of her office chairs. Adrien nodded plopped himself into one of the chairs. He sat up straight as Marinette wrapped the tape around his head. Marinette took his measurement and wrote it down on a nearby piece of paper. Adrien watched how focused she became. Frankly, he found it admirable. At school, Marinette was a klutz, but here she was completely in control. Marinette stood and walked over to her door. "I'll be right back," she said. She needed some materials and she was sure that her father had some cardboard lying around somewhere.

Adrien nodded and Marinette swiftly left the room. She didn't intend to be gone long and thus saw nothing wrong with him being in there. What could go wrong in five minutes?

Adrien leaned back in his seat as the door shut behind Marinette. Plagg quickly flew out of Adrien's shirt. Adrien nearly jumped out of his seat as the cat kwami looked about the room. "Plagg!" Adrien said under his breath, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"It's not like she's in here," Plagg said with a disinterested look, "She's going to be gone for a bit so why not come out for some fresh air?"

Tikki watched on from behind one of Marinette's pillow. It had been a while since she had heard her other half's voice, much less seen him. She couldn't help but want to catch a glimpse of him. Admittedly, it wasn't her greatest idea to be peeking out from behind a pillow when she was supposed to be a secret, but she just wanted to see him. She was a little irritated to see that his happy-go-lucky attitude had not changed though.

"Still though," Adrien growled.

"Relax, kid. If we hear someone coming up the stairs, then I'll just zip into your jacket like always."

"Plagg, I think you're oversimplifying things just a bit."

Plagg shrugged. Adrien groaned and threw up his hands. He really could not deal with Plagg right in that moment. He decided to spin his chair towards the work table to get a feel of what he was doing. A number of sketches were laid out in front of her computer. The top one seemed to resemble her current project the closest so he picked it up. A band of the little white flowers were hastily drawn onto a teacup dress form and Marionette's handwriting crowded the margins of the page. A grin pulled at his lips as he looked at the simple design. He assumed that she was going for a Mother Nature sort of character.

Finding that she had been out for far too long, Tikki retreated deeper into Marinette's pillows. Admittedly, the pillows were a bit old and had accumulated dust over the years. Tikki felt her nose scratch up as she pushed herself further into the fabric. She was sure to give Marinette a word after Adrien left. She placed her arm over nose as she nose scrunched up again.

 _Do not sneeze._

 _Do not sneeze._

 _Whatever you do, do not sneeze._

Tikki's nose scrunched up even more and a tiny squeak escaped her. Her heart stop as Adrien straightened in his chair and Plagg turned around.

 _Oh no…._


	16. Afternoon Chat

**[A/N: Expect some delays in the following weeks due to fluff month .]**

Marinette climbed down the stairs into the family's kitchen before sneaking into the bakery's main oven room. Tom happily worked at the counter, kneading some dough, while humming a familiar pop song. Marinette giggled at the funny way her dad swayed side to side when he worked. She always thought it made him look like a Disney character.

"Hey Papa," she said with a grin and a mock wave.

Tom turned around, a smile curving his mustache. "Oh hey, what's up? Isn't your friend coming over today?"

Marinette nodded. "Yeah, he's upstairs. I just need some cardboard for a project."

"Oh, of course. There's some behind the front counter."

"Thanks, Dad," Marinette said before giving her dad a quick hug, making sure to avoid his flour-covered apron. She ran into the hall and snuck into the storefront to retrieve the thin sheets of cardboard used to make boxes for sweets. Sabine didn't so much as look at her as she helped another customer. Marinette left the shop and proceeded back into the common living area with two unfolded box underneath her arm. She didn't want to waste time getting back to her guest.

* * *

Tikki held her breath as Adrien and Plagg looked at each other in utter confusion.

"Was that you?" Adrien said in a hush. Plagg frantically shook his head. His ears drooped behind his head as he thought about the minute squeak. One possibility came to his mind, and he didn't know what to do about it. It couldn't have been Tikki, could it? Had his other half really been this close this entire time? He floated in the vague direction of the sound. Tikki's breath hitched in her throat as Plagg floated precariously close to her her fortress of pink cushions.

Plagg's eyes grew big as he approached the pile of pillows and spied a pair of terrified blue eyes. "You have got to be kidding me," Plagg said under his breath. He stopped in the air and covered his mouth. What was Tikki doing there?

"What is it, Plagg?" Adrien said cautiously as he took a few hesitant steps towards his kwami. His heart was in his throat as Plagg looked up to him with wide eyes and his tail flicking side to side. He stopped as Plagg's eyes zipped between the pile of pillows and Adrien.

Plagg took a deep breath. This was always hard. He wasn't even sure if it was the right time to reveal who Ladybug was yet. Plagg shook his head. Tikki was right to hide. The two of them weren't ready and Adrien didn't need another thing on his mind. "I - It's nothing, kid. I just thought about a world without my beautiful camembert," he said with a comical grimace.

Adrien's lips straightened into a line. He knew it was a lie. It couldn't be anything but a lie. He wondered what in the hell could be so important for the aloof Plagg to lie about. His eyes wandered over to the mountain of pillows.

Plagg quickly flew to between Adrien's eyes. "A-anyways, kid, shouldn't you be getting back to your seat?"

Adrien sighed. It was no use. He plopped back into the office chair. He managed to steal several glances at the pillows but he couldn't discern anything unusual about them. Was he just imagining it all?

* * *

Marinette climbed the steps in a hurry. She stuck the flattened boxes beneath her arm as she unlatched the door. Plagg jumped before diving into Adrien's shirt. Adrien helped Marinette into the room by holding the door open. A faint pink flashed over her cheeks. He seemed awfully Chat-like as he gently held her wrist.

"Thanks," she said with a small smile. He smiled back. Marinette swore that she could see some of her partner in the way that his smile pulled to one side more than the other.

"No problem," Adrien said as he returned to his seat. Marinette sat across from him and set the thin cardboard onto the floor.

"Right, we should probably get started," Marinette said as she picked up a needle and white thread. Adrien threaded his own needle, surprising Marinette. "You know how to sew?"

Adrien shrugged. "A little," he said. "My mom taught me. She said it was a useful skill to have."

Marinette's expression faltered as a pit formed in her stomach. Right, his mother was missing. Only Ladybug knew that though. Marinette took a small breath as she collected herself. "Oh really?" Marinette said, not quite knowing what else to say. A quiet moment passed. Adrien's expression fell despite his smile. Marinette wanted to beat her head against the wall for this whole predicament. Why did she have to bring up such a painful memory for him? She thought back to Chat crying at the Tower. It broke her heart to see him like that. She wanted him to be happy. She wanted him to feel like he belonged, no matter how empty his home life was. She wanted to connect with him as Marinette, as a dear friend.

Adrien nodded. "Yeah, she would teach me things here and there between lessons." Adrien thought about his mother as he stared at the needle and thread between his fingers. "I guess her little lessons are finally coming handy, huh?" he said with a forced chuckle.

Marinette laughed at the poor joke, but no joy filled her heart. She knew that he could do better and that his eyes were far to unfocused for him to be happy. He usually had this sparkle in his green eyes, but it was all gone. "Yeah," Marinette said in a desperate attempt to change the topic. Talking about his mother (or either parent in fact) would only make Adrien more depressed. "It'll surely help right now as we sew on all these flowers." Marinette said with a flourish of her hand. She reached over Adrien to grab her sketch before moving her sewing machine to the floor. Adrien almost got up to help, but was stopped when Marinette raised her hand. She unfolded the dress so that the bottom laid flat on the tabletop.

Adrien watched as she took a chalk pencil and drew a curved line onto the skirt. She drew with such ease that Adrien wondered just how many times she had done this. He guessed that a lot of hard work and determination had gone into her hobby. "Just sew the flowers along this line, but not perfectly in line. Sort of like they're falling and this line is just a breeze that picked them up. Do you know what I mean?" she said with a nervous tone.

Adrien nodded. It seemed simple enough. He just hoped that his limited artistic ability wouldn't disappoint Marinette.

Marinette demonstrated how to sew on the simple flowers, a skill that Adrien quickly picked up, before heading to the floor where the cardboard was. She made quick work to cut out the two circles for the brim and build the top portion of the hat out of the thin cardboard. Adrien worked as quickly as he could while Marinette glued black fabric to the various pieces. Marinette smoothed out her bangs as she returned to her seat. Her eyes widened as she looked at Adrien's handiwork. She wasn't expecting mastery of any kind, but it looked quite nice.

"Damn, you weren't kidding," Marinette said.

Adrien looked away. "Thanks, I surprised myself too," he said. Marinette picked up her own needle and began to thread flowers as the glue dried. Adrien felt like he should say something. Anything. "You're amazing, Marinette."

Marinette stopped threading the flower together. "W-What?"

"Ah, I was just saying that you're amazing, Marinette. I mean, look at all this," Adrien said, motioning to everything in her room, most which she had modified. "Not just anyone could do all of this. You know that, right?"

Marinette blushed as Adrien's words sunk in. "Oh, umm it's nothing special. I just like to make things." She played with one of her pigtails as her ears turned pink.

The two engaged in light conversation while working on the costume pieces. A few hours passed and the two managed to finish both projects by dinnertime. Sabine came climbing up the stairs as Marinette sewed on the final flower. "Hey are you two kids ready for dinner? Are you staying over tonight, Adrien?"

Adrien took a look at his phone to find a text from Nathalie that it was time to go. It was ten minutes ago, meaning that she would be there any second. With a sigh, he said, "Thank you for the offer ma'am, but my ride is coming."

"Oh, that's too bad," Sabine said, "Marinette, why don't you walk him out?"

Marinette nodded before snipping off the final thread. Tom waved goodbye as the teens went out through the back entrance and waited by the curb for the Gorilla to show.

The brisk spring night sent a breeze that whistled through the tree branches. "Hey," Marinette said, "is something bothering you?" She knew there was. There were a lot of things, but she wanted to be able to support him as Marinette the civilian, not just as Ladybug.

"What makes you say that?"

"Call it intuition, I guess," she said, "Well, I might be wrong. But if there's something that's bothering you and want someone to talk to, I'm always free to listen."

Adrien turned so that he faced her instead of the road. His heart was in his throat and he didn't know quite what to say. He did what he thought was right. Adrien smiled and gave her a light hug. "Thank you, Marinette."

Marinette squeaked but eventually hugged him back. No other words were exchanged after they let go of each other.

As the Gorilla rolled up, Plagg peeked from behind Adrien's over-shirt with big eyes. This was Ladybug. That was the only explanation for Tikki to be there. He couldn't believe that the awkward girl from Adrien's house was his Ladybug. Sure, Ladybugs weren't ever some sort of perfect goddess, but this girl was a special kind of klutz.

He needed to talk to Tikki.


	17. Midnight Decisions

**(A/N: I am so sorry for the wait. Life's a bitch at times ^^;. I hope to become more regular in the coming weeks and that you guys enjoy this chapter :))**

The Gorilla glanced in the rear view mirror at Adrien who gazed out the window. Adrien rested his chin on his palm as he watched the passing people and buildings with a small smile. He thought about the afternoon he had shared with Marinette. It was possibly the most relaxed he had ever seen her. Maybe all this working together was doing her some good. That's what Adrien thought. He thought maybe Marinette had finally stopped seeing him as this far-off being and instead saw him as a fellow classmate.

Before long, the Gorilla pulled into the Agreste Mansion's garage. Adrien quickly got out of the car and wordlessly entered the house with a wistful smile on his face. Gabriel caught a glimpse of his son as walked down the hall.

Gabriel looked up from the mountains of papers that crowded his desk and walked to the threshold of his office. Adrien didn't notice Gabriel watching as he walked up the stairs to his room. Gabriel stood with his hands behind his back as Adrien disappeared into his room. It was weird seeing Adrien so undoubtedly happy. He wondered what could have happened to make him so happy. Actually, he had been much happier than expected lately. He sighed. Maybe he didn't need to worry about him. As if.

Gabriel didn't go back to Adrien's room though. Going there would only wipe that smile off his face. Gabriel returned to his desk and picked up an old drawing Adrien had done when he was in elementary school. He just wanted Adrien to be happy like he was back when he had drawn the family portrait.

Adrien quietly closed his door behind him before flopping onto his bed. Plagg flew out of Adrien's shirt and hovered over the boy's eyes. Adrien stared at the ceiling while Plagg took his seat on top of the couch's back.

"What was that about, kid?" he said, his foot impatiently tapping against the cushion. He needed to see if Adrien knew anything, get the kid the bed, then zip back to the Dupain-Cheng's to talk to Tikki. Too much was going on at once. Too much was at stake. He needed to know how much Ladybug knew about Chat.

He was going to miss his beauty sleep for sure that night.

"What do you mean, Plagg?" Adrien said while glancing over at his kwami.

Plagg sighed and rolled onto his back. If he could, he would've face palmed. Sometimes he couldn't believe how dense his Chosen was. All the homeschooling in the world couldn't teach common sense, he guessed. "You hugged her. What happened to not liking her?" Plagg said.

Adrien's gaze returned to the ceiling. His heart pounded as he thought about Plagg's words. She was just his friend. Marinette was just his classmate. She just couldn't form a coherent sentence around him half of the time. Was a hug really all that bad? "Shut up, Plagg. She's just my friend," Adrien groaned. He got up and went to the bathroom. "I'm gonna take a shower. Your cheese is in its usual place," Adrien said over his shoulder before shutting the bathroom door behind him.

Adrien sat against the door and rubbed his face.

* * *

Plagg sighed. Adrien would stay in there and sulk for at least twenty minutes before showering and would most likely ignore Plagg for the rest of the evening. He only had a bit of time. Plagg quickly zipped out of the open window into the chill night air.

He didn't quite remember where Marinette lived, but he remembered it being near the school. He flew to the neighborhood and searched the vicinity for that terrace. He had seen it enough on Chat Noir's patrols to recognize it. He always thought about Marinette when passing by.

Plagg had to stop himself from rolling his eyes as he saw the terrace. He almost gagged with the memory of Adrien's gushy thoughts. If only the kid knew the truth, then he'd always want to be 'patrolling.'

Plagg flew over to Marinette's window and peered in. Marinette sat in her office chair with a stupid grin spread across her face. Marinette covered her face with her hands and squealed for the tenth time that night. Tikki sat on her desk with a forced smile. She was glad to see Marinette so happy, but she also knew that Plagg saw her. Marinette had been so focused on the night's events that she hadn't quite noticed the reduced glimmer in Tikki's eyes.

Tikki spaced out for a moment and stared out the window. In the emerging city lights, she caught the outline of Plagg's form. She had a feeling that he would pull something like this. Tikki patted Marinette's hand and pointed at the window. Plagg's heart nearly stopped as Marinette got up and opened the window. So he really _had_ been seen.

Plagg cautiously floated into the room, keeping a watchful eye on Marinette. Tikki quickly gathered him into her short arms and squeezed. "Plagg! It's so good to see you."

Plagg didn't hug back, as he turned to Tikki. He couldn't quite believe that he was with her so soon. Usually it would be several months or even years after reawakening before they would meet again. But this was not the time for reminiscing.

"She knows?" he asked in a low voice. Tikki let go of him and nodded. Marinette sat down in her office chair while watching the two kwamis float over to her. "How long?" he whispered.

"A few weeks," Tikki said while facing her chosen. Marinette sat still as she watched the small black cat. She hadn't seen him since she caught him snacking on cheese in the school's fridge. Admittedly he was cute, but his personality was a piece of work. She wondered how in hell he was supposed to balance with Tikki's bubbly personality. "This is Plagg, Chat Noir's kwami," Tikki said, motioning to Plagg with her arms. "He's been my partner for centuries."

"A few too many, probably," Plagg said. Tikki gave him the side eye, but Plagg just shrugged. "Anyways, you've got quite the interesting chosen this time. I think Wayzz is losing his touch."

Tikki smacked him the back of the head, "Marinette is perfectly capable of being Ladybug. Your Chosen thinks so for sure," she said with a mischievous grin that Marinette had never seen.

Plagg rolled his eyes. "Don't get me started on the kid; he's practically smitten with this one."

Marinette blushed and looked away. That was one aspect of Chat Noir that she had been purposefully ignoring. The thought that Adrien liked Ladybug made her heart soar and her stomach sink. He liked the confident and cool her, not the clumsy nerd side.

Ladybug gave Marinette a quick glance before giving Plagg another side eye. He really did not know how to read a room. "Right, anyways, why are you here?"

"Always to the point," Plagg said with a sigh, "but you're right. I don't have all night. Now that you two know who Chat is, what do you want to do?"

Marinette locked eyes with Tikki as they entered an awkward silence. It was only a few days until the festival; Marinette and Adrien were only going to be busy until then.

"We should tell him," Tikki said after a moment.

Marinette looked away. She knew that was the right course of action. "I agree," Marinette said, "but let's wait until after the festival is over."

Plagg lowered his arms and rested on the desk. "Glad to get that out of the way. He stretched a bit before jumping back into the air and flying over to the windowsill. "Anyways, I better head back before the kid realizes I'm gone." He looked back at Tikki and gave her small smile. "It was nice seeing you, Tikki." With that, he leapt into the night air and quickly flew back to the Agreste residence.

* * *

Adrien grumbled to himself as he stood and took his shower. He was sure that Plagg was just wolfing down his store of cheese without a care in the world. As the water heated up, he thought back to the past few weeks. They seemed to have flown by with the festival preparations amongst other things. He thought about how nice Marinette was that afternoon and how sharply her family contrasted with his own. He truly was the black cat, he guessed. He was 'blessed' with everything except for a warm and loving family. He stepped into the hot water and let it hit his face as he took himself back to that night with Ladybug where he just let everything out. He covered his face with his hands. That month had just been too much.

He quickly showered and stepped into his room. He draped his towel over his shoulders as he sat on the couch and turned on the television. He turned around to the cheese drawer and wondered why he didn't hear Plagg eating. Adrien sincerely didn't think that Plagg would be having table manners right then.

"Plagg?" Adrien called from the couch. When he still heard nothing, Adrien stood and faced the drawer. "Plagg, are you mad?" Adrien sighed before facing the TV again and turning on his latest anime series. If Plagg was going to be silent, so would he.

Adrien was on his third episode when Plagg flew in through the bathroom window. He quietly floated along the wall as an epically over dramatic fight scene playing out on the screen. Plagg rolled his eyes as one of the characters entered a long monologue while powering up some bodily weapon. Plagg never understood these shows, but he had seen weirder and thus never said anything about it. He smiled as he reached the cheese drawer and dropped into his precious stash. He didn't think that a bakery would have camembert, so he had held on until he got home. It truly was a struggle.

He unwrapped a new piece of cheese and began digging in. He watched Adrien, who didn't hear him eating over the TV, and thought about how interesting the end of the week was going to be.


	18. Preparation

Marinette rolled out of bed as the early morning light filtered through her windows. She turned on her phone to check the date and time. It was Tuesday; only four more days until the festival. She rolled back onto her back and sighed. Only four more days before she came clean to Adrien. Her heart pounded at the thought.

She stood and climbed up to her terrace to take in the early morning air. She watched over the city as the morning light slowly crawled over the buildings. Tikki followed her and sat atop the terrace's handrail.

"I wouldn't worry too much," Tikki said quietly. Marinette nodded before she ducked back into her room to ready for the day. She thought through what the next week could bring, but Tikki would be sure to reassure Marinette that everything would turn out alright. Tikki's reassurances always brought a smile to Marinette's face as she went about her routine.

* * *

Gabriel opened viewed his wife's portrait as the house began to stir. Nathalie had just arrived, and the Gorilla was on his way to the house as he spoke. Everything was in working order, but something still gnawed at him. Ever since Nathalie's attack, he had noticed a subtle change. He sighed as he pushed up his glasses. The show was coming up, just four days away. Most of the preparations were done. Now, all he had to deal with the gnawing feeling in his gut. Nathalie walked into the room's threshold.

"Good morning, sir," she said in her usual overly-professional manner.

Gabriel collected himself and turned towards her with a straight face. "Good morning," he said.

"…"

"…"

Nathalie clutched her clipboard. "Are there any tasks you would like me to do?"

Gabriel pressed his lips together as he thought. "Yes, please check up on Adrien," Gabriel said. He nearly opened his mouth to ask Nathalie to have him come in, but he stopped himself.

Nathalie nodded before quietly walking up the grand staircase to Adrien's room.

Adrien was sprawled across the couch, one arm lazily hanging over the edge, when Nathalie knocked three times on the door. Adrien stirred, causing him to accidentally roll off the couch with a pronounced thud. Nathalie jumped a bit from her spot. She tightened her grip on her clipboard as she brought it to her side and opened the door with her free hand. Adrien groaned as he pushed himself up and rubbed his eye. Nathalie sighed as she saw Adrien brace himself with the coffee table and rub the back of his head. Nathalie stopped herself from chuckling by coughing into her loose hand. Adrien looked over the top of the couch and quickly stood.

"Good morning, Nathalie," he said soon after getting onto his feet. His cheeks burned as Nathalie regained her composure. He knew that she was giggling on the inside.

"Yes, good morning," Nathalie said in her usual stiff tone.

Adrien was almost glad to see that she was completely back to normal, though he did miss seeing her very human embarrassment from the previous weeks. He guessed that she was finally fully over her akuma attack. Nathalie was glad as well. She was glad to see Adrien acting like a normal kid. Him falling asleep in front of the television like that made her think back to her childhood where she and her cousins would do the exact same thing. Nathalie scanned the room and noticed one of Adrien's bedside table's drawers ajar. She found it strange since Adrien kept his room exceptionally clean most times. She took down a mental note before bringing her clipboard before her and reminding Adrien of a photoshoot he had in a couple of weeks and telling him that the Gorilla would be waiting in his usual place that morning. It was nothing new, but Nathalie didn't want to leave without having done anything. She believed that she had fulfilled Gabriel's request when she turned and walked down the hall and back to the first floor. She entered her office and sat in front of her desk, ready for another day of phone calls and endless organization.

Plagg flew out with a yawn after the door closed behind Nathalie. Adrien seemed clueless enough and Plagg liked it that way. He really didn't want to stress out the kid anymore. He sighed as he thought about what the coming week was going to bring. He frankly didn't even want to hear how much Adrien would gush over the idea of seeing Ladybug everyday. "Have a nice trip, kid?" he said with a tired snicker. He nibbled on the cheese that was between his arms as Adrien sat on the couch and turned off the TV.

"Very funny, Plagg," Adrien said as Plagg took a seat on the back of the couch. Adrien spared him a glance and thought back to the stupid argument from the night before. He hated to admit it, but he was being immature. He sighed which made Plagg's ears perk. "Hey Plagg."

"Yes, kid?"

"Don't let this get to your head," Adrien said, "but I have something to say." Plagg took a big bite of his cheese and gave his Chosen a side glance as if to tell him 'go on.' Adrien rolled his eyes as he discerned Plagg's ever aloof expression. Plagg never really could just come out and say what he wanted (unless it concerned his favorite smelly cheese, of course). "I'm sorry," Adrien said quietly.

Plagg's ear twitched, but otherwise stood still. He smirked a bit as Adrien glanced at him. Which only slightly annoyed Adrien. After a short moment, Plagg finished his cheese with a satisfied sigh. "Oh, I never thought I'd ever hear you say those words," he said with a smile.

"Now I feel like I should take it back," Adrien grumbled. Plagg snickered and Adrien chuckled in return. A silent moment passed before Adrien stood and made his way to his closet. "Anyways, I'm going to get ready now," he said before grabbing a towel and heading into the bathroom.

Plagg floated back to the bedside table to indulge in his second helping of cambebert. The water started, leaving Plagg alone with his thoughts. Four more days until the full reveal. Four more days until Adrien's sad life got a little brighter. Hopefully at least.

* * *

Marinette finished applying her mascara before dashing down the steps to the kitchen where she grabbed an apple. Sabine and Tom chuckled as they watched their daughter run out the back entrance. Tikki held on for dear life in Marinette's bag as the young girl crossed the street and ran up the stairs, nearly bumping into Alya in the courtyard. Alya turned from her phone as Marinette smoothed down her hair.

"Where's the fire," Alya said with a small chuckle.

Marinette rolled her eyes as she took her first bite of her apple.

Alya snickered before readjusting her school bag and taking a seat on a nearby bench. She pat the spot next to her, prompting Marinette to plop down onto the wooden seat. Marinette stared off into the courtyard, studying the incoming student with no particular amount of attention paid to any one individual. Alya pulled out her phone and immediately brought up the Ladyblog to search through her latest fan mail. She checked it every morning for any possible Ladybug and Chat Noir sightings. Finding none, she turned to Marinette to talk about the latest Jagged Stone music video, but Marinette heard nothing about it. Instead she continued to stare off into space.

* * *

Adrien quickly got ready and headed down to the sizable dining room for his usual breakfast. Nathalie was still in her office, so Adrien ate alone. Gabriel walked down the hall to the other side of the manor and caught sight of Adrien through an open door. Gabriel slowed and stopped just outside of the threshold as Adrien slowly ate his meal. He adjusted his glasses as he watched Adrien slowly pick at his food and occasionally take a bite. A small platter of cheese sat at the edge of the table, which made Gabriel's brow furrow.

His son had adopted some strange habits in the previous months, but Gabriel just assumed that it was due to the lessened amount of supervision. His wife usually kept a close eye on Adrien on most days. Adrien didn't really have any particularly strange or bad habits when his mother was around, but Gabriel wasn't sure what could have changed in the past year. So much had changed in too short a time, and Gabriel couldn't keep up with Adrien and the fashion industry. Gabriel pressed his lips flat as he thought more about the time he had missed with Adrien.

Adrien ate the remainder of his meal just as Plagg snatched the last piece of cheese off the plate and wrapped it in one of the squares of tin foil that Adrien kept in his bag. Gabriel noticed a small shadow take the morsel, and thought that his eyes must've been going. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. His surprise only heightened as he put his glasses back on and stared at the small, empty plate. The cheese of gone. Adrien pat his mouth clean and stacked his napkin and utensils atop his plate before gathering up his school bag.

"Good morning, father," Adrien said, making wary eye contact with Gabriel. He moved his feet shoulder width apart and kept his chin high to give off even a sense of normalcy. Or maybe he was going for just equal ground.

Gabriel relaxed his shoulders and slackened his face. He gave Adrien a weak smile as he looked at Adrien, his beautiful son that reminded him so much of his wife. "Good morning, Adrien," Gabriel said in the least stiff way he could, which wasn't saying much.

"..."

"..."

Adrien pointed in the vague direction of the garage where Nathalie and the Gorilla most likely were waiting for him. They were always much more prompt than he ever was. Or... at least the Gorilla was. "I better go," Adrien said quietly as if not to break the silence residing over the hallway.

Gabriel nodded and motioned for Adrien to go along. Adrien briskly walked down the hallways, slowing his pace only after turning the corner. Plagg peeked out from the bag's zipper. "What was that about?" he asked while resting his chin on his hand.

Adrien shrugged as he approached the garage door. Plagg disappeared into Adrien's bag before Adrien walked into the car.

Adrien piled into the car as the Gorilla took his seat at the wheel. Nathalie stayed behind, opting to remind Gabriel about a number of documents that needed his attention.

Adrien's ride to school was uneventful as usual, but his thoughts were anything but the usual. The festival was coming, meaning that he could be busy like a normal student who didn't do an absurd amount of extracurriculars. He was allowed to focus on friends and class activities. He was sad to see it all come to an end that week, but he was going to enjoy the hectic week as much as he could.

He hopped out of the car just as the Gorilla pulled up to the curb. The Gorilla couldn't help but smile as Adrien bounded up the school's steps to where Nino was waiting for him. The two boys did their customary fist bump before heading into the school's courtyard. Nino quickly caught sight of Marinette and Alya who were giggling together. Nino smiled as he quickly wrapped an arm around Alya's shoulders. Alya held his free hand without prompting.

"Well good morning," Nino said as Adrien came up to Marinette's side. Marinette spared him a glance as the couple flirted a bit. He seemed happy enough, which made her happy. She couldn't wait until Friday.

* * *

School went on as expected. Between classes, students would chit chat about their plans after school. Some were planning on doing painting, while others were working on costumes. Few were doing nothing for the festivities. After school couldn't have come sooner.

Marinette, Alya, Nino, and Adrien headed to the front of the classroom where Marinette brought out her tablet for group to see. The majority of their classmates worked on their own projects as the four of them reviewed the advertising and organization.

Alya glanced over to Adrien and Marinette. With a smile, she leaned over and whispered into Nino's ear, "Hey, let's give them some space."

Alya winked at Nino and he winked back with a similar smile.


	19. Chase and Capture

Alya whipped out her phone as if she got a text and wrapped her arm around Nino's waist. She tugged on his waist with a smug grin pulling at her lips. "Nino, Juleka and Rose need help in the storeroom. Won't you come with me?"

Nino glanced over to Marinette and Adrien before smiling back at Alya. "Sure," he said with a wink. Nino turned and tapped on Adrien's shoulder. Marinette looked away from her tablet as Nino explained how he and Alya were going to help some of their classmates.

Marinette looked over to Alya, who gave Marinette a thumbs up before walking out the room with Nino holding her hand. Marinette rolled her eyes before returning to her tablet. She and Adrien went through various pages to review the details of the upcoming festivals and list the tasks that still needed to be done. Adrien was unusually close to her. Knowing it was her partner next to her, made Marinette more comfortable with the limited space.

Adrien leaned onto the table with one hand resting under his hand while the other followed the lines of text down the screen. Marinette watched him concentrate. He was unusually Chat-like as he casually rested his chin. It reminded her of how he leaned on his staff while talking to akuma sometimes. It was strange: just two weeks earlier, her heart would have pounded at just the thought at Adrien, but now she comfortably shared a screen with him.

A few classmates whispered to each other at the their work stations, but Adrien and Marinette paid them no mind as the continued to work through the materials.

They were soon done. Having nothing better to do than wait for Alya and Nino, who Marinette had no doubt were just flirting behind some corner, to return. Marinette sat in her usual seat as she put away her tablet, making sure to not bump Tikki in the head as she did so.

Adrien leaned against the desk and glanced out the window. He sometimes really hated downtime. He never got much, and therefore never knew what to do with himself when there was no one telling him what to do. A sudden gust of wind rustled the leaves outside. The leaves' bright green color made Adrien think of the other night. He turned to Marinette just as she had brought out her sketchbook and pencil.

"Hey, Marinette, have you finished your costume?" he asked tentatively.

Marinette leaned back in her chair as she set her pencil atop her sketchbook. "Almost done," she said, " What about you? Did that top hat work out?"

Adrien's face lit up a little as he thought back to the makeshift hat Marinette had made for him. It wasn't the most professional thing in the world, but no one could tell the difference with the way that Marinette hid the cardstock base with stretchy fabric. He nodded with a grin while leaning closer to Marinette. Marinette got a good look into his green eyes and felt her heart skip. The way that he looked at her greatly resembled how Chat looked at Ladybug. He was her those 'heart eyes' that girls online always went crazy for. Usually she would ignore this expression, but seeing it on Adrien's face made her strangely uneasy in a good way.

Adrien's phone pinged and his nose scrunched just as he opened the new message. It was from Max. The frantic message outlined how tea had gotten spilled on his laptop and that he had to clean the entire hard drive in order to avoid damage. Max quickly sent a second message saying that he no longer could work on the shift schedule. Adrien sighed as he read over the message once again before turning the phone to Marinette. She read the messages and sighed in turn. There was always something.

"What do you want to do about this?" Adrien asked while scrolling through some social media.

Marinette shrugged. "Only one thing we really can do," she said, "do it ourselves."

Classes were over for the day, so only those working on the festival were in the room and there was no obligation to stay. Adrien turned to Marinette. "Right," he said, making sure to make strong but not too strong eye contact with her, "how about we head somewhere then? It's kind of noisy here." Adrien leaned against the table and opened his texting conversation with Natalie. He was sure it would be fine. It should be fine. Yes, everything would be fine. He shot her a quick text saying he was going to work on a project with a friend but didn't say who.

Marinette's heart skipped before she nodded with a smile. The two proceeded to pack up their things and leave the classroom together, drawing a few curious glances from their classmates. Sabrina, who was painting a poster that Chloe couldn't bother to finish, made sure to snap quick picture of Marinette and Adrien leaving together. She looked at the picture with a grin before sending it off to Chloe.

* * *

Chloe surveyed her closet for the tenth time that day trying to figure out what to wear for the cafe when her phone buzzed. She ignored it at first as she thought about how she could outshine all the other 'amateur' costumes that her classmates were sure to bring.

She bit on her thumb nail when her phone pinged again. She stomped her foot on the tile flooring before looking at her phone. Choe's brows shot up as she clicked on Sabrina's photo. She clenched her hands as she zoomed in on Adrien walking behind Marinette. She wondered what the hell he was thinking and where they were heading. She quickly shot Sabrina back a text to follow the two of them.

Chloe collapsed onto her king sized bed and screamed into one of her many over fluffed pillows. The butler standing right outside her door sighed and immediately turned around, not ready to deal with whatever teenage drama was plaguing Chloe this time.

* * *

Sabrina closed her phone and put it back in her bag with a smile on her face. She nodded to herself to psych herself up as she gathered her things and quietly left the room, leaving her mountain of work behind.

Sabrina hid behind the corner above the stairs as Adrien and Marinette reached the courtyard. The two lingered in the middle of the opening, each texting their respective parents saying they were staying a little late. Adrien was enjoying the slight degree of freedom maybe a little too much.

"So where do you want to go?" Adrien asked with a smile that he thought he could only pull as Chat.

Marinette smiled a bit at the Chat slipping through. She wondered if he was unconsciously catching on that she was Ladybug. She highly doubted it though. Unlike him, neither her hair nor eyes changed when she was Ladybug. If he hadn't figured it out within the past year, then he most likely was never going to. "I don't know," she said, "so long as there's wifi, I'll be fine with it."

Adrien chuckled a little, more to himself than anyone else. "Oh really?" he said. "Well then, my - er - Marinette, may I suggest a cafe?"

"That sounds good to me." Adrien quickly pulled out his phone to Google the nearest cafe, but Marinette tapped him on the shoulder. "No need for that, I know a place," she said before taking the lead.

Adrien slid his phone back into his pocket fell in line with Marinette. Frankly, he was liking this side of Marinette, the more confident her. He wondered how much more of this he would see the closer they got to the festival.

Marinette's heart pounded as she led Adrien into the labyrinth of Parisian streets. She remembered a quaint spot that her father had taken her to a few times on Sunday mornings. It was run by his college roommate or something like that. She didn't remember how the two really knew each other. She just knew that they served some of the best coffee that she ever had. She took the series of confusing turns with ease, with Adrien staying close by.

Adrien had been around the city plenty, but not like this. He had never experienced the city streets so intimately as a civilian, and it made him feel wary and excited at once. He noticed the different people riding through on their bikes and walking in groups. It made him feel like a normal teenager. Marinette made her final turn and head down a small walk way surrounded by small businesses and a row of cramped apartments.

She walked down until she met the familiar sign of a dragon silhouette coming out of a teacup. She walked under the simplistic sign into the shop where the smell of fresh espresso and lavender hit her. Adrien walked in close behind her and was overwhelmed by the space. The walls were covered in a light wallpaper accented by small roses that had started to fade from the many days basked in the sun shining through the sizable windows that lined the far wall.

Marinette sat near the window and Adrien followed suit. He sat across from her with his bag hanging from the back of his chair. Tikki peeked out of the bag after Marinette took out her tablet. Plagg did the same. The kwamis made eye contact and silently nodded before sneaking out of the bags and slipping through a cracked open window behind Adrien. Marinette caught sight of them but said nothing as she opened her email.

* * *

Sabrina turned the same corner for the third time. She leaned against a streetlight and sighed as she tried make sense of the old neighborhood. She never really went anywhere without Chloe, and the diva would never be caught dead anywhere this ... common. Sabrina's phone buzzed with Chloe's ringtone. Sabrina's stomach dropped as she took it out and checked the message. She was met with a large wall of angry, all caps text saying how she was slow. Sabrina managed to text in an apology amidst the barrage of angry texts, but was only met with more backlash as Chloe let out her ever frustration. Sabrina eventually silenced her phone and collapsed into a nearby bench. She leaned over her knees and sighed again as she thought back to Chloe's angry texts.

She scratched the back of her head as a few children come running down the street laughing with one another. Sabrina hugged her knees. She wished that she had friends like that. That she wasn't so useless when she needed to be useful.

* * *

Hawkmoth smirked. It must've been Christmas. Two akumas in such short a time? He would nearly call it miraculous. He quickly tainted a butterfly, preparing to send it into the city. He watched Sabrina sink further into self-doubt.

He questioned whether or not the butterfly would work a second time, but shrugged as the butterfly slipped through the window.

The butterfly sought out Sabrina and turned her phone a deep violet. Hawkmoth smiled as he sensed the Vanisher returning.

Sabrina took her phone, which had also vanished from sight, and slid it into her skirt's pocket before walking down the sidewalk. She bumped into a group of school children, but she didn't stop to apologize like she usually would. The children looked at each other confusedly as Sabrina barreled down the walkways. She caught sight of a familiar pair of pigtails out of the corner of her eye.

* * *

Adrien and Marinette huddled around the tablet, arranging and rearranging the various shifts so that not one person was doing all the work. The duo were completely engrossed, enough so that they didn't notice how close they had gotten. From outside the café, Plagg stuck out his tongue and fake gagged as the teens accidently bumped shoulders and apologized with pink cheeks. He rolled his eyes as he hid behind some daffodils while Tikki sat atop a rock.

"Why don't those two just confess already? It would save us from all this gushy crush stuff."

Tikki rolled her eyes. "Plagg, just wait until after Friday. Remember?" Tikki said with a poignant look, "That's the plan, and we should stick to it."

"But this has taken so long. Look, it's obvious that they like each other. Why don't you just go and show yourself to Adrien? Wouldn't that solve everything?"

Tikki sighed as she facepalmed. Plagg truly hadn't changed at all in the past centuries. She wondered how much longer he was going to act like a younger brother when she heard footsteps behind her. Plagg and Tikki both jumped and climbed under a row of shrubs to hide from whatever pedestrian decided to take the back way around the cafe.

The peered out of under the shrub to find nothing. Plagg crawled out, assuming it was just some kid running by. Sabrina smirked as the cat kwami came out into the open. A familiar violet mask covered her face as Hawkmoth talked to her.

Hawkmoth's eyes bulged as he spotted Plagg in Sabrina's view. "Vanisher, grab the kwami and bring him to me," Hawkmoth said with a tap of his cane on the tiled floor.

"Of course, Hawkmoth," Sabrina said as she reached out for Plagg. Plagg jumped at the voice and attempted to zip back into the shrub, but was caught. He struggled in Sabrina's grip, but couldn't break free. His eyes bugged at he tried to figure out where the force was coming from. Tikki's hands flew to her mouth as she watched Plagg get taken away.

Sabrina snuck Plagg under her sweater vest so that he would vanish as well and clasped her hand over him so he wouldn't escape. She glimpsed over at Marinette and Adrien through the window one last time before Hawkmoth threatened to take her power away unless she brought him Plagg. She gritted her teeth as she walked away into the labyrinth of city streets.

* * *

Tikki's heart thumped in her throat as she watched Plagg vanish from sight. Her eyes turned to saucers as invisible footsteps lurked away into the empty alleyway. This was bad. Really bad.

Tikki couldn't tell when it was safe to come out. She didn't know whether or not the phantom that had kidnapped Plagg was still lying in wait. Her heart pounded as seconds seemed like hours. She had to do something. She crawled onto her belly and made her way through the decorative leaves and blossoms until she reached the brick edging of flower box. She scraped her arms as she felt along the brick, looking for the opening in the glass that had let them out in the first place. She slipped in and crashed to the floor which made Adrien and Marinette jump. She looked down as Tikki crawled on the old linoleum floor and finally flew back into the bag breathless. Adrien looked around him desperately for the voice as Marinette peered into her bag with knitted brows.

"What's going on?" Marinette whispered.

"Plagg's gone!" Tikki said.

"What?" Marinette said. Adrien's head whipped up from his frantic search to look at her.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

Marinette's head whipped back and forth between Adrien and Tikki. She bit her bottom lip as she went over her two options: tell Adrien or leave to find Plagg.


	20. Reveal and Prevail

Marinette bit her lip as she locked eyes with Tikki. Tikki glanced over to Adrien whose brows got more knitted as time passed. Marinette's heart pounded as Tikki closed her eyes and nodded to Marinette and pointed over to Adrien.

Marinette's eyes widened. Was Tikki saying what she thought she was saying? She bit on her lip harder as the weight of the situation bore down on her.

Adrien sat up a little straighter. He saw Marinette peering into her purse, just staring. It was strange. "Is everything ok?" he asked quietly.

Marinette sighed. Time was escaping her. She couldn't just sit there. She stood from her seat and gathered her tablet into her bag. "I need to tell you something," she said. Adrien was taken aback by her sudden assertiveness. There wasn't even a hint of her usual awkward grins or stuttered words. She stood strong. It reminded him of his Bugaboo.

"Okay?" he said while getting up from his seat. So much for a nice chat over coffee.

Marinette led him out of the cafe and into one of the many alleyways that snaked through the city. She needed to be quick. Who knows how far Plagg could've been taken. Her heart roared in her ears as she turned around to face Adrien who was trailing close behind. He took a step back to keep himself from running right into her.

Marinette took a deep breath as she opened her purse. They weren't too far from the cafe. The akuma couldn't have gotten far unless it flew. She needed to catch up. She needed to tell the truth. "Tikki, come out."

Adrien's hand flew to his mouth as Tikki zipped out of the purse with a concerned look on her face. It took him a moment to realize what he was looking at and who he was with.

"Ladybug?" he whispered, stunned.

Marinette nodded.

Adrien took a step forward. Tikki sat on Marinette's shoulder. Adrien's heart pounded as realization hit him like a train. This was his lady. Finally, he had found her.

Silence filled the air as the teens locked eyes, but the moment was lost when Tikki flew before Adrien's eyes. This was an emergency; there was no time for questions. "Adrien, Plagg is in trouble," she said while waving her arms. "He was taken away by an akuma."

"What?" Adrien said more to himself. His eyes grew large as he opened his bag only to find his tablet and wallet. "When did he leave?" He looked back up to Tikki as another realization hit him. "Wait, how'd you know that... you knew that I was Chat Noir?"

Marinette looked down at her feet, her hands balled into fists at her side. Maybe she should have just told him earlier? Maybe this wouldn't have happened then? As if. "Yes, but that isn't important right now. We have to go." She turned to face Tikki. "Can you tell me anything about the akuma, Tikki?"

"She was completely invisible," she said, "just like the Vanisher."

"Sabrina?" Marinette said.

"Do you think it was Chloe again?" Adrien said while scratching the back of his neck.

Marinette sighed. "I wouldn't be surprised if that's that case," Marinette said before turning to Tikki. "Let's go to the hotel then."

Marinette was about to call for her transformation when Adrien tapped her on the shoulder. "Hold on," he said, "give me your bag and phone first." Confused, Marinette handed over the items. Adrien quickly put the contents into his own school bag before placing Marinette's phone into a pocket. He fastened the bag and held onto it. "Now transform."

Marinette quirked a brow, but didn't question him. She called Tikki for her transformation. Adrien's heart skipped as he watched Marinette get washed over by a wave of red and pink sparkles to reveal the spotted heroine. The truth was finally sinking in as Ladybug opened her bright blue eyes. Marinette blushed a bit as she noticed how Adrien was staring at her. She never thought that transforming in front of someone would feel so revealing.

Adrien shook his head. Shit, how could he be so dumb and just stare? He handed Ladybug her bag. "Wear this, but have the bag part tight against your back," he said.

Ladybug smiled. Of course, this way they could still communicate. He truly was her partner. She nodded before sliding the bag over her head and fastening tight enough that the messenger bag didn't interfere with any of her movements. "I'll go to the hotel," she said. "What are you going to do?"

Adrien looked around to the maze of streets and walkways that surrounded him. He would love to go searching for the Vanisher and Plagg, but he doubted that he'd be much help in this part of town. "I'll go with you."

Ladybug nodded before picking him up like she had had on earlier missions and flung them onto the nearest rooftop with her yo-yo. The duo blushed as they acknowledged how close they were. Sure, it wasn't their first time being this close to each other, even as Ladybug and Adrien, but it still made the teens conscious of one another.

Ladybug found the hotel amongst the sea of Parisian buildings. She nodded to Adrien and he nodded back as she grabbed him and made their way through the city.

Ladybug tried to move quickly as to avoid any unwanted shots of the heroine carrying the teen model. Adrien pulled up the collar on his over shirt to cover the majority of his face as they jumped and swung through Paris. Soon enough, they were standing atop of Chloe's terrace. Ladybug peered through the window and saw Chloe sprawled across her bed with a mess of clothes strewn across her room. Ladybug rolled her eyes as she knocked on the glass. She just wanted this to be over with.

Chloe rolled off her bed and stomped her feet as she made her way to the window with balled fists and a pouted pair of lips. She was ready to tell off whatever worker or bird or whatever decided to disrupt her and her sulking over having nothing to wear. Her expression drastically changed as she saw Ladybug and Adrien on her terrace. Her two biggest loves in the same place? She thought that it would never happen.

Chloe quickly ran to the window and unlocked it. "Oh Adrikins!" she squealed as she gave him a hug, "And Ladybug!" She turned to give Ladybug a hug as well, but Ladybug stopped her.

Ladybug took in a deep breath. This was not the time to get irritated. This was not the time to lose her cool. "Hi, Chloe," Ladybug said with a forced smile, "I have a few questions for you." Chloe enthusiastically nodded. She reminded Ladybug of an overeager kindergarten student. "Have you seen Sabrina today?" Ladybug asked with crossed arms.

"Well of course, she is my friend. What about her? Is she committing another fashion crime? I keep telling her to just throw out those old shorts. She would look so much better in a nice skirt, don't you think so, L—" Ladybug put out a finger to cut Chloe off.

"Have you been with her?"

Chloe gave her a look. "Yeah, at school earlier. Why?"

"Do you know where she went after that?"

Chloe looked over to Adrien. She sighed. "I sent to her follow this girl in my class because she went off with my dear Adrikins," she said while fluttering her eyelashes at him. Ladybug bit her tongue.

Adrien sighed. "You mean Marinette?"

"Precisely!"

Adrien's lips straightened into a line. "Chloe, you shouldn't have done that. But that's beside the point. Do you know where she went or where she would be going?"

Chloe looked back and forth between Adrien and Marinette. "Wait, are you working with her?" A beat of silence passed and Chloe took that as a yes. She only got more excited as she thought about her two loves working together.

Ladybug let out a breath. "Did you have her go anywhere else?"

Chloe shook her head. "I don't know what that girl is doing, she hasn't given me an update in over an hour. The nerve!"

"Right. I think I've heard enough," Ladybug said as she grabbed Adrien's hand. "Thank you for the info, Ms. Bourgeois." Ladybug wrapped her arm around Adrien before taking out her yo yo again. Chloe's jaw nearly hit the floor as Ladybug took Adrien back into the expanse of the city.

Ladybug lowered them into an alleyway and leaned against one of the walls. She sighed as she thought about where Sabrina could have gone. Adrien's lips straightened into a line as he watched Ladybug. He felt useless as Adrien. He wanted to be Chat. He wanted to be able to help. At this rate, he was just going to be extra weight. He leaned against the wall opposite of Ladybug. The two sat in silence for a moment as they combed through their thoughts. Adrien thought back to their last battle with the Vanisher. If he remembered correctly, she couldn't fly or run quickly. Really, her only power was invisibility. Meaning that Sabrina couldn't have gone far, and with that maze of streets, she probably got lost.

Adrien stepped forward and nudged Ladybug's arm to take her away from her thoughts. "Ladybug, let's go back to the cafe," Adrien said quietly.

Ladybug looked into his green eyes, confused. Why? Why would he want to go back there? She racked her brain and remembered their last fight with the Vanisher. A small smile pulled at her lips. Her partner was pretty smart. She took out her yo yo and grasped Adrien. They nodded to each other before Ladybug launched them onto the rooftops again.

* * *

The Vanisher punched the wall as she ran into the fifth dead end in a row. She damned Paris for being so old to have this confusing mess of a city plan. She gritted her teeth and tightened her hold on Plagg as she retraced her steps. At this rate, she might have needed a cookie crumb trail to find her way out.

Plagg constantly squirmed in her sweaty palm and scratched at the Vanisher's sweater. Eventually, he managed to maneuver his face to rub against the rough fabric. He didn't have claws, but he did have fangs. He quickly began to dig his fangs into the knit, looking for any hole or snag he could use to unravel the fabric. He needed just a small hole to be seen and shout through. He was sure that Tikki and Marinette had already set off to find him. As he worked at the knit, he thought about Adrien. Did he know now?

Plagg finally managed to chew out a small portion of the knit. It wasn't going to big enough to be noticeable, but at least he could kind of see where he was at.

He yelped as the Vanisher ran by another low standing chalkboard and into a citizen. She was running so frantically that Plagg was surprised that she hadn't face planted yet.

* * *

Ladybug lowered into a alleyway. Adrien and Ladybug looked at each other. Now what?

"We should split up," Ladybug said, "We'll attract less attention that way."

Adrien nodded. "Let's call if we find anything."

"Right."

They nodded to each other again before Ladybug returned to the rooftop and Adrien ran into the streets. He looked for anything out of the ordinary. The last time they had fought Vanisher, they found her through fallen shop stands and bewildered pedestrians. There was no shortage of either of those items in this neighborhood.

Adrien casually walked down the streets. If he was lucky, the Vanisher would come to him. He heard a group of school girls scream and chatter to each other about hands pushing them aside. Bingo.

He quickly turned on his heel and followed the sound of confused girls. Their confusion quickly turned to adoration as Adrien ran through the streets. The girl's eyes followed Adrien as he passed by them with a small wave. He didn't have time for niceties. Where was she? Where was the next clue?

He slowed to a jog when he heard a sign clatter. There she was. He ran along the opposite side of the street and noticed a trash can fall in one of the alleyways. He didn't know where the hell it led to. He looked up to the rooftops. No Ladybug in sight.

His lips straightened into a line. Should he risk it? Should he really go further into the maze of old roads and walkways. He smiled to himself. Of course he should; that was what Ladybug would do.

He slowly approached the alleyway and peered in. A line of shuffled trash and hiding alleycats met him. It was safe to assume that the Vanisher had gone that way. He took in a deep breath before running into the alley. At every turn, he looked around for more disturbances. He looked for anything. Trash. Cats. Shuffled dirt. Anything. Adrien was wishing at that moment that he had Ladybug's sharp eyes, Marinette's.

Adrien took his phone from his back pocket and dialed Marinette's number.

* * *

Ladybug heard her phone ring as she swung between two old apartment complexes. She landed atop a roof and took her phone from Adrien's school bag. Adrien's contact flashed across the screen.

Her heart sank for a moment. Did something happen? Did Hawkmoth get him and now holding him as a hostage? She answered the call.

"Hello?" she said as assertively as she could muster with her thumping heart.

"Hey, La—" Adrien stammered, "Marinette."

Ladybug let out a sigh of relief. "Oh hey, did you find her? Are you okay?"

Adrien smiled to himself. "I think so. I'll send my location."

"Alright."

"Okay."

"..."

"..."

"I should get going."

"Right," Adrien said, "See you soon."

"See you soon. Be safe."

"Same to you."

Ladybug hung up and opened her text messages. As promised, Adrien had sent his location over a text message. She took note of it before slipping her phone back into Adrien's bag and tightening it against her back. She quickly swung across the rooftops until she spotted his head amongst the milling groups of confused people. Adrien looked up and spotted Ladybug's suit. He grinned a little as he looked at her outlined in the mid-spring sunshine. He clenched his hand around his phone. Adrien glanced around and found that there was no one around. He pointed in the direction that the Vanisher had gone. Ladybug nodded and leapt across the rooftops in that direction while Adrien ran down the alleyway he had last heard trash cans falling and cats growling in.

The two followed the course of the alleyway. Ladybug saw a dead end up ahead and decided to go on ahead and wait atop a gutter looking over the dirty alley. Ladybug took out the phone and again and shot Adrien a quick text about the turn coming up.

Adrien felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and stopped behind a corner to read it.

 **Marinette: There's two turns ahead and then a dead end.**

 **Marinette: There's a dumpster after the last turn. Hide behind it.**

 **Adrien: Ok. See you soon ;)**

Adrien smiled as he answered the text. He followed the instructions and quickly slid behind the grimy dumpster. Adrien covered his nose and mouth with his hand to keep out the rancid smell of rotting produce from getting to him. He glanced at the rooftops and again spotted Ladybug. His heart jumped again as she looked around the alleyway for any sign of the Vanisher.

Ladybug observed the alleyway closely for anything. Her heart thumped in her ears as she searched for even the tiniest evidence of movement. She heard a kick against the brick wall.

Bingo.

Ladybug shot a quick text to Adrien to stay put and a short list of instructions.

What to do now?

Ladybug did what she always did and called for her Lucky Charm. A can full of red paint emerged from the cloud of shimmering ladybugs. This one was almost too easy. She waited for the next kick against the wall before spilling the paint onto the ground below. The paint splashed and covered the Vanisher, revealing her outline. Ladybug jumped down to the ground, yo yo spinning behind her. She approached the Vanisher with a stern look in her eye while the Vanisher kept a tight grip on Plagg beneath her shirt.

"Let him go," Ladybug said.

The Vanisher grit her teeth as she squeezed Plagg harder. A purple mask flashed over her paint covered face.

"Get her miraculous now, or say goodbye to your power," Hawkmoth growled as Sabrina's hand began to emerge.

"Yes, sir," said the Vanisher. She quickly looked around the dead end and snatched a nearby garbage lid and charged Ladybug. Ladybug dodged, forcing the Vanisher to approach the dumpster.

"Now!" Ladybug shouted.

"With pleasure, my lady," Adrien whispered to himself while looking down to his ring. "Claws out!" he shouted, making Plagg warp out of the Vanisher's grasp into his ring.

Adrien smiled as he transformed into his superhero self. He jumped out from behind the trashcan, baton spinning by his side. The Vanisher clenched her phone at her side as she grit her teeth. She couldn't believe that Chat's civilian self was so close. Hawkmoth gripped his cane as he watched through the Vanisher's eyes. He was so close to finally seeing the boy behind the mask.

"There!" Ladybug shouted while pointed at the paint covered mobile.

Chat Noir smiled. "With pleasure, my lady," he said before extending his staff and hitting the phone out of the Vanisher's hand. The phone shattered on the concrete, releasing the akuma.

Ladybug quickly cleansed the butterfly and sent it on its way. Sabrina emerged from a cloud of violet smoke, clearly confused as to where she was. Sabrina turned to see Ladybug stick out her fist for the usual fist bump, and quickly reached for her phone. She was not going to miss this shot of Ladybug for Chloe.

Ladybug's heart thumped as she lowered his hand. He wasn't going to fist bump her, wasn't he? "We should talk," she finally said after her miraculous' first beep. Chat nodded.

He holstered his staff before approaching Sabrina. He gave her quick directions on how to get back to the main road. With that, Chat gestured to the rooftops before jumping up there. Ladybug followed suit, leaving Sabrina alone with her unopened phone.


	21. Connect

[A/N: This is the final chapter of this fic, and I would like to say thank you to everyone who has enjoyed it this past year :). I'd also like to thank my beta, tourmei; I couldn't do it without you .]

Chat Noir couldn't keep the smile off his face with the miraculous' energy and his love nearby. The paint-covered Vanisher in front of them gritted her teeth as she backed into the nearby wall. Ladybug's earrings began beeping, making both of the young heroes' stomachs drop a little.

Chat Noir looked at the narrow corridor and smirked. He ran towards the Vanisher and pushed his staff against her. Chat pressed the staff so that it extended and wedged itself into the old brick walls. The Vanisher struggled against the bar now against her stomach.

As she struggled, Chat searched her pockets to find the dark violet cellphone. With a huge smile, he threw it to Ladybug who quickly de-evilized the akuma inside. The shower of shimmering bugs flew over the city, and Sabrina reemerged from a shroud of black and violet.

Chat turned to Ladybug whose earrings rang once again.

"We should talk," she said before putting her fist out. Chat returned the fist bump softly.

"Yeah we should," he said while retrieving his staff from the wall. He gave Ladybug his hand. "May I?"

Ladybug's earrings rang again as she nodded. Chat Noir wrapped his arm around Ladybug's waist while she took hold of his shoulders. Chat's staff extended, guiding the teens onto a near balcony. Ladybug's miraculous timed out and she reemerged as Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Chat's jaw dropped as Tikki landed in Marinette's hands. He knew who Ladybug was, and he still couldn't believe how close she had been this entire time.

Marinette grabbed her arm and bit her lip. "I guess I should explain."

"Explain what?" Chat said.

"How I found out your identity or why I kept quiet."

Chat's lips straightened into a line. While he was curious how his classmate came to have this secret, he didn't particularly care. He just wanted to learn more about his Lady, about Marinette. He felt now that she was more of a prism, a person with so many sides that they shone differently depending on what angle he looked at her with. He felt as if he had just unlocked a new side of her, and he couldn't wait to know her more than just as a partner or quirky classmate.

"Chat?" Marinette said. "Adrien?"

He shook his head a little. He put on his signature smirk and leaned on his staff. He didn't know how to react or what to say, but what he did know was that he didn't want to leave her yet. He eyed his bag that still clung to Marinette's frame. He pointed at it. "How about we finish our work, princess?"

Marinette glanced down to the silver bag and nodded with a sheepish smile. She could still see Sabrina wandering the streets below and the neighborhood was in disarray after the attack. "Maybe not here, though," she said while nervously fiddling with the bag's strap.

Chat looked around. "Yeah, you're right."

"My place?"

Chat smiled. "I have no objections, my lady." He scooped Marinette in his arms without delay and jumped along the Parisian rooftops.

Gabriel tapped on the mess of papers before him. The week had been hell and the guilt piling in his gut didn't make anything better. Three days until Adrien's event. He glanced at Emilie's portrait behind him. He was alone in this.

He adjusted his glasses as the phone rang. He answered it in a heartbeat. His jaw dropped as an executive told him about some conflicts in the coming weeks.

They finally landed in front of the back entrance to the Dupain-Cheng's bakery. He set her down gingerly.

"I guess it's time to take off the mask now, isn't it?"

Marinette grasped his clawed hand. She nodded before looking around. There was no one milling about the side street.

Chat took in a deep breath and released Plagg. Both of the teens' hearts raced as they locked eyes. They handed over each other's bags; their wide eyes never fully leaving the other.

"W-we should go in," Marinette finally said.

"Right," Adrien said, a slight blush crossing his face.

He quickly took out his phone to text Natalie where he was. He didn't know whether or not she knew of the attack and didn't want her thinking he was missing later. They entered the household entrance. The heavenly smells hit Adrien; it made him realize just how hungry he was. He had counted on eating at the cafe earlier, but with all the commotion, he had forgotten. Plagg's stomach growled too. Marinette giggled after hearing the two of them.

"Mama, Papa!" she called into the household while walking into the bakery's kitchen, "I brought a friend over."

Sabine ran into the kitchen from the front room and hugged Marinette.

"Oh, thank the heavens you weren't hurt. I just heard about the attack," Sabine said in a frantic string of words.

"Yeah, luckily we managed to get out before anything really happened. Apparently it was the Vanisher again," Marinette said with a nervous chuckle.

Sabine sighed with relief. She looked over Marinette's shoulder.

"Oh, hello Adrien, would you like something to eat or drink?"

Adrien glanced over to Marinette. He just wanted to talk with her, but his growling stomach and dry throat had other ideas. Sabine grinned and walked into the house's kitchen and rustled through some shelves. She turned on the kettle and pulled out the box of herbal tea. Marinette sighed. Her mom always brewed that tea after an akuma attack. While the kettle whistled, Sabine passed the teens to get into the bakery's kitchen and snatch two fresh croissants off the rack. Before Adrien and Marinette knew it, they were seated at the kitchen counter with hot food and drink in front of them. They thanked Sabine before she disappeared back to the store front.

The door closed behind Sabine, leaving the teens alone in the quiet kitchen. The kwamis snuck out of their hiding spots and sat on the counter in front of their respective chosens. A few beats of heavy silence fell over them before Marinette finally took a sip of her tea. Adrien did the same.

"So you're Ladybug," he said quietly, almost to himself.

Marinette nodded.

Adrien looked her in the eyes, hand covering his grin. So fucking close. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. He felt it was all too good to be true and that at any moment he was going to wake up to Plagg wanting his stinky breakfast.

Marinette blushed as Adrien flashed her that look that Chat Noir had given her countless times. Without the mask, it was so much more potent.

Marinette took another sip of her tea. She didn't know quite what to say. The truth had more or less settled in, but she could tell that Adrien was still well into the shock phase of the reveal. She didn't want to push him.

But her curiosity was quickly overwhelming her tact.

"Were you surprised?" she asked quietly. Her heart roared in her ears as the question left her lips.

Adrien lowered his hand and took a sip of his drink. It kind of burned as he took a big gulp.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't know," he said, "I guess I just feel really dumb."

"Because we were so close," they said in unison.

A beat of silence passed before they fell into a fit of giggles. The kwamis sighed and retreated into Marinette's room as to not disturb the teens. Adrien and Marinette locked eyes.

Adrien took one of Marinette's hands and squeezed. Her heart stopped as she felt the cool metal of his ring push against her skin.

"I'm just so glad," he murmured. "I'm just so glad that I finally found you."

Marinette smiled and put a hand on top of his.

"Me too, chaton," she whispered. "Me too."

A few days passed and the pair were nearly inseparable. Plagg and Tikki couldn't help but look on like they had done with so many chosen before . Whispers and rumors and angry Chloe went about the school. To say that Alya and Nino were relieved would be an understatement as they watched their friends nervously walk together in the halls.

The day of the festival came quickly. The students were let out of class early to change into their costumes. The entire class was readying the food and tables when Chloe came in wearing her over extravagant (and probably expensive) powered up Ladybug costume with working wings. She thought she would be the star of the show as she walked into the class with a flourish.

No one paid her any mind as they went about their assigned tasks.

Chloe huffed as she took her spot at the hostess stand with Sabrina, who was in her homemade Chat Noir costume nervously straightening menus and utensils.

Alya and Nino were putting up posters along the halls in their animal-themed costumes, coordinated of course. They wondered where the new couple was. They were the organizers, after all, and they should be rest of campus was in a roar as colorful balloons, streamers, and other decorations were set up and pop music played over it all.

Adrien and Marinette giggled as they quietly ascended the stairs. They arrived in the classroom with bright smiles. All eyes were on their beaming faces as Marinette played with the bells tied to her leaf-patterned armbands. They jingled slightly with her every move, adding to the illusion that her forest fairy outfit gave. One would think that she was a little imp coming to play with the students and guests. Next to her was a blonde Masked Tuxedo whose arms was linked with hers.

The classroom applauded the craftsmen and asked for a myriad of photos. The day went well. Adrien and Marinette had little to do as organizers as soon as the costume cafe was up and going. They spent the majority of the day walking around, looking at other exhibits.

Soon enough, sunset was upon them and activities were slowing down. Adrien held Marinette's hand as they sat down on a bench in the neighboring park. The day had ended without a hitch. Yet, Adrien still felt a slight hollowness in his chest. His father never came. He guessed that the fashion industry was just far too busy for Gabriel to attend the festivities. Adrien sighed and Marinette squeezed his hand. He had told her bits and pieces of what was going on, but she still couldn't imagine how he felt.

"I'm sorry, Adrien," Marinette said quietly.

"It's okay."

Marinette faced him. Was he really okay? She wasn't sure. She looked right into his bright green eyes. She just wanted him to be okay. She just wanted him to be happy. She leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss.

His eyes widened as she pulled away. Both of their hearts fluttered as they regained eye contact. A moment passed before Adrien closed his eyes and leaned in.

Car brakes sounded nearby. It was Adrien's ride. They squeezed hands again before Adrien stood. They exchanged quiet goodbyes, but before Adrien could turn around, Marinette saw a tall man exit the silver car.

Adrien turned and saw his father who had a minute smile on his face. Adrien's breath caught in his throat as Gabriel walked onto the sidewalk with a proud expression and slightly open arms. Marinette sat on the bench with a smile as she watched father and son come together.


End file.
